A similar effect has operated for households: borrowers with floating rate mortgages in particular have seen their monthly repayments fall sharply. More generally, by reducing the returns on saving, the fall in interest rates has encouraged households and businesses to spend. The MPC’s programme of asset purchases has further stimulated demand by injecting additional money directly into the economy. The Bank’s purchases of government bonds encourage investors to diversify into alternative assets, such as corporate bonds and equities. The Bank is also operating directly in commercial paper and corporate bond markets to improve the functioning of those markets. Both actions have helped to boost the prices of corporate assets, reducing yields and lowering the cost to companies of raising funds in capital markets. This in turn should help to stimulate increased spending. The dramatic easing in monetary policy occurred alongside a range of Government policies. Most importantly, the Government’s actions to provide both capital and liquidity were  1  2  See Eichengreen and O’Rourke (2009). Romer (2009) makes a similar point. BIS Review 159/2009  instrumental in stabilising the banking system. The temporary reduction in VAT and the car scrappage scheme have boosted household spending and provided short-term support to retailers and the car industry. And the Government’s Business Payment Support Service has reportedly enabled almost a quarter of a million small and medium-sized firms to delay tax payments.
This is not a widespread issue: the average NPL ratio is 5.4% in the European Union as of September 2016, and in many countries, including France and Germany, it is below 4%. But it is a challenge which seriously affects specific banks in certain countries, mainly Italy and Portugal. So this challenge is manageable, but it needs to be actually managed: the quicker the better. Recent initiatives by Italian authorities are a step in the right direction, with the active involvement of European supervisory authorities. Third factor: the digital transformation. It is true that digitalisation is disrupting traditional customer relationship models. But it also creates opportunities: for instance, more diverse and accessible financial services, more complete customer satisfaction, greater valorisation of data. Yet, in order to succeed in the digital transition, financial companies need first to place innovation at the heart of their strategic management; and second to examine ways of transforming their business models, mainly in Retail. Obviously these are difficult choices that need to be made by the companies themselves. The strategic way forward is not up to regulators, and will not be uniform. That said, let me share some thoughts with you. On the income side, the response could be twofold: diversifying the range of services – both proprietary and via partnerships – that are offered to customers; and adjusting existing pricing policies, with fewer flat-rate prices and more pricing by use.