Similarly, in the euro area some countries experienced asymmetric boom-and-bust cycles. Several euro area countries had higher than average growth in the pre-crisis years. In Ireland  BIS central bankers’ speeches  5  and Spain particularly, a large part of this growth can be ascribed to increases in housing prices.
It is true, of course, that many European banks have made a lot of progress. They have significantly raised their capital and liquidity buffers, they have got rid of a lot of bad assets, they have refocused their business, and they have streamlined their cross-border activities. So far so good! But even though banks have started doing their homework, they haven’t finished yet.