While I am on the topic of bank lending, I would like to add a few words about commercial real estate (CRE). Demand for commercial property has dropped as the economy has weakened, leading to significant declines in property values, increased vacancy rates, and falling rents.
In assessing whether more is needed, and if so, how much, we will naturally need both to maintain a close watch on the data and to remember the extent of stimulus that is still in the pipeline as a result of past actions. Other supportive factors include the state of the financial system. This has been said many times but bears repeating.