For me, that is the crucial point in this debate: members of the general public should be able to rely on us fulfilling this mandate and not making it subordinate to other objectives. The Bundesbank stands by this unconditionally – no ifs, no buts.
However, we must not turn a blind eye to the fact that extremely low interest rates also harbour risks to financial stability and the efficiency of economic structures. These, in turn, can have an impact on price developments and the central bank’s ability to achieve its primary objective of price stability. The crisis made this abundantly clear for us.