Economic developments and monetary policy over the past year  So what have been the key developments in the economy and in monetary policy over the past year? In 2009, the European Central Bank was operating in an environment that future economic historians are likely to describe as the most difficult one for advanced economies since the Second World War.
Following the profound intensification of the financial crisis in the autumn of 2008, the year 2009 started with a continued synchronised fall in economic activity worldwide. Until around April last year, economic activity was declining, month after month, faster than any model had predicted. That is why we have often characterised what we were experiencing as a “free fall” in economic activity.