Banks are actively seeking to use the abundant liquidity at their disposal, above all by lending to firms in a stronger financial position and operating in the manufacturing sector. The cost of credit has come down appreciably for both large and small firms. In relation to GDP, however, investment is still far below its pre-crisis levels, at historical lows.
With COVID cases dropping sharply, I expect this latest surge in infections will not be a major factor affecting the economy in 2022. Supply bottlenecks and labor shortages, some of them related to the pandemic, continue to weigh on economic output, but I expect those to diminish later this year. The combination of strong consumer demand and supply constraints has produced very high inflation.