As the affected economies represented a third of euro area GDP, the contagion became an acute threat to price stability in the euro area. The ECB monetary policy response to these developments was twofold. First, to ensure that banks had access to longer-term funding, two three-year refinancing operations were undertaken at the end of 2011 and the beginning of 2012.
In cases where examiners have identified a violation of the compliance program requirement, the federal banking agencies are bound by law to take formal enforcement action.