For comparison, the deficit averaged 2 percent of national income for the fiscal years 2005 to 2007, prior to the onset of the recession and financial crisis.
Today, we will close the public consultation on our guidance for banks on dealing with non-performing loans. That guidance takes the form of recommendations to banks and defines a number of best practices that we have identified. It sets out our supervisory expectations and serves as a basis for supervisors to evaluate how banks handle nonperforming loans.