However, since autumn 2002 when the target for the current account deposits was raised from “around 10 to 15 trillion yen” to “around 15 to 20 trillion yen,” undersubscription has rarely occurred. The target has been raised since then, and now stands at “around 27 to 30 trillion yen.” Indeed, this high level of the target was unthinkable when quantitative easing was first introduced.
With the caveat  BIS Review 36/2003  1  that there is probably a limit to increasing the target since it is inconceivable that all financial institutions hold their assets in the current account deposits at the Bank, the first of the findings from our experience of more than two years of quantitative easing is that a central bank can provide a fairly large amount of funds even under zero interest rates.