In 2008, the ECB decided on unprecedented measures when private financial intermediation was first impaired and then on the verge of collapse, and we restored it to its prime function. On both sides of the Atlantic, we had to cope with impaired money markets. We set the conditions for banks to resume lending to each other and to their customers.
We helped reconstruct the market when it had disappeared. And we laid the foundations for the nascent recovery to start and consolidate. Throughout these actions, the ECB has maintained price stability and the stability of inflation expectations. A month ago, we sprung into action for a second time. It was for the same reasons.