Money and credit have both continued to grow vigorously in recent months. The annual growth rate of M3 in October, at 12.3%, is likely to have been influenced by a number of temporary factors, such as the flattening of the yield curve, the financial market turmoil and specific transactions associated with the restructuring of certain banking groups.
The fact that we showed ourselves to be very firm about price stability, fully in line with our definition – less than 2% but close to 2% over the medium term – helped us in the crisis. Because we avoided not only a materialisation of the inflation risk but also of the deflation risk which, after Lehman bankruptcy, was becoming the main danger.