And if this induces financial institutions to adopt aggressive lending attitudes, economic conditions will be boosted further. Thus, changes in the capital of financial institutions are a factor amplifying business cycles both upward and downward through changes in their lending attitudes.
While the ECB will continue to comply with the mandate of keeping price stability over the medium term in line with Treaty provisions and preserving the integrity of our balance sheet, I want to state that our strong preference is that Greece will continue to stay in the euro area.