Therefore, information content provided in key banking data such as loan demand, rate of loans approval, lending standards adopted by banks, delinquency ratio, and NPL could be useful in helping to assess how risk and activities are evolving in the macroeconomy, and whether the information point to the need for monetary policy to react over and above what the usual price and output data imply, either by an interest rate action or by a macroprudential action. My final observation is on the relevance of inflation-targeting as a monetary policy framework in the post-crisis era. Recently, inflation-targeting has come under a close scrutiny whether the framework is useful given its narrow focus on inflation whereas risk to economic and financial stability can come from many sources other than inflation. In this crisis, the performance of the inflation-targeting economies does differ widely, but the majority are those that have been more successful in weathering the crisis. Examples here include Australia, New Zealand, Canada and a large number of emerging market economies as opposed to a more difficult experience elsewhere. My view is that inflation-targeting remains useful as a framework for monetary policy, and experience of many inflation-targeting emerging markets in this crisis demonstrates clearly that price stability and financial stability can be preserved even under extreme financial circumstances. But the framework could be further strengthened so that the need to pay attention to financial stability concerns can be more formally addressed through a flexible inflation-targeting regime.
As you know, I never comment on what my colleagues have said. On the basis of our decision, which was taken by the Governing Council with an overwhelming majority, I would like to emphasise the following points. First, we are totally independent of governments and pressure groups of any kind. It is not by chance that we have guaranteed price stability, but by taking decisions which have pleased neither governments nor lobby groups. Second, our mandate is price stability. From 1999 to the present we have delivered average annual inflation of 1.98% for 330 million European citizens. We are unswervingly committed to price stability. Third, we re-absorb all of the liquidity that is injected through our interventions. We are not printing money and there is no change to monetary policy. Fourth, the aim of our interventions is to enable certain markets to function more normally, in order to ensure the correct transmission of our monetary policy, which is unchanged. Fifth, we have taken note of the decision by governments not only to strictly comply with their undertakings to reduce deficits, but also, on the part of a number of them, to step up their budgetary consolidation efforts. For us, this is absolutely of the essence. BIS Review 76/2010  3  Does the situation of the Spanish banks concern you? I have no particular comments at this stage. On the international level, prudential supervision by the Banco de España has always been regarded as rigorous, particularly with its concept of dynamic provisioning.