This may mean that the effect of easy monetary policy is to be somewhat lessened, at least for a time. Taking a medium-term perspective, though, the general strengthening of the balance sheet among many formerly more-indebted households has to be seen as a good thing.
In the interim, the somewhat more restrained attitude to debt and spending by households, combined with a similar attitude by the government sector, has meant that there has not been quite enough domestic demand to achieve full employment, in the face of the fall in business investment.