Let me now turn to the second question: How do financial variables and monetary policy affect private consumption decisions and retail trade? Loans to households, whose developments are presented in Chart 4, are an important indicator for the analysis of consumer spending. Hence, the ECB regularly monitors household loans as they are a key channel for the transmission of monetary policy.
Nevertheless, should the need arise, we have ample fiscal headroom to provide further stimulus to the economy. In other words, ladies and gentlemen, while 2015 is likely to bring continued economic challenges for the Philippines, our country appears to be well-placed to deal with them.