Indeed, some evidence from the United States, based on individual loan data, supports the idea that banks are increasing the supply of credit as they obtain additional credit protection through credit derivatives. 5 A consequence of the possible impact of credit derivatives on the monetary policy transmission mechanism is that central banks have to adapt their market monitoring and analytical tools 6 .
As I am sure you all appreciate, there is a single thread running through all of these actions, namely to ensure that we deliver on what we are expected to deliver: price stability across the euro area over the medium term.