Under the leadership of my predecessor, Governor Poloz, as well as Senior Deputy Governor Wilkins, the Bank did an outstanding job restoring smooth functioning to key markets, ensuring ample funding and market liquidity. The Bank revived some emergency programs used during the global financial crisis over a decade ago. And it brought into operation several new measures with remarkable speed and precision.
The main risk on the upside continues to relate to the momentum in household spending and housing prices. Household income continues to grow, consumer credit growth is currently quite high, and house prices have been rising sharply. These three factors could lead to higher consumption than we expect, which would put upward pressure on inflation.