In the office space sector, new square meters built were not matched by an equivalent increase in demand, generating a significant increase in the vacancy rate, as we warned in previous Reports. These levels could remain for a prolonged period due to the inertia of the market and the incorporation of new projects (figure 11). Aggregate household indicators remain relatively stable, but with some of them showing a marginal deterioration. The debt over disposable income rose in 2014, while the financial burden remained around 14 percent of income, due to low interest rates (figure 12). The lower interest rates facing households are also the result of a change in debt composition, away from higher-rate consumer loans to lower-rate mortgage loans. No changes in indicators of bank default are seen, whereas in non-bank lenders a new increase is observed. This latter phenomenon is partly explained by regulatory adjustments, although a worsening of the credit portfolios of said lenders cannot be ruled out. Commercial and consumer credit exhibit bounded growth rates, not so mortgage loans, which remain strong (figure 13). The behavior of commercial and consumer loans is in line with the slower growth in private spending. Demand-side factors could be behind these dynamics, as suggested by the Bank Lending Survey. The expansion of mortgage lending is largely explained by the increase in the average debt, which is consistent with the dynamic of housing prices and debt to collateral ratios, which have remained stable. Bank financial indicators have been stable.
Rodrigo Vergara: The Monetary Policy Report and the Financial Stability Report Presentation by Mr Rodrigo Vergara, Governor of the Central Bank of Chile, before the Finance Commission of the Honorable Senate of the Republic, Santiago de Chile, 3 June 2015. *  *  *  Accompanying charts can be found on the Central Bank of Chile's website. The Monetary Policy Report of June 2015 and the Financial Stability Report of the first half of 2015 can be found at http://www.bcentral.cl. Introduction Mr. President of the Finance Committee of the Senate, Senator Andrés Zaldívar, senators members of this Committee, ladies and gentlemen. Thank you for inviting me to share the vision of the Board of the Central Bank of Chile on recent macroeconomic and financial developments, their prospects and implications for monetary and financial policy making. This vision is contained in detail in the Monetary Policy Report of June 2015 and the Financial Stability Report of the first half of 2015. The macroeconomic scenario shows minor changes with respect to forecasts in March. Annual inflation declined between February and April, but it remains above 4%. Output and demand continue to grow at a moderate pace, and the first quarter was better than expected, but incoming data suggest that the remainder of the year will be somewhat less dynamic than previously estimated. In the global economy, the growth outlook showed no major changes either. The weaker US figures early in the year and the consolidation of better prospects in Europe are worth mentioning.