As indicated on several occasions, the overall aim of the comprehensive assessment of banks is two-pronged: on one hand, the exercise seeks to offer a high degree of transparency concerning the situation of banks whose supervision will be conducted by the single supervisory mechanism as from November; on the other, it intends to promote the recapitalisation of those viable institutions that show insufficient levels of solvency. Both  2  BIS central bankers’ speeches  avenues will help reinforce the credibility of European banks ahead of the transfer of the supervisory function to the new authority. I should emphasise that it would be mistaken to quantify the value of the stress test in terms of the capital requirements it brings to light; and even more mistaken to measure its success on the basis of the proximity of the final result to the relatively sizeable estimates in the analyses published so far which, often, have been lacking in information and rigour. Experience shows that, beyond the size of the capital shortfall identified, these analyses are only credible if they manage to provide rigorous and consistent information on banks’ real situation and their ability to withstand adverse scenarios. Accordingly, the strategy to pursue can be none other than to ensure the methodological soundness and consistency of the exercise, and to provide the market with sufficiently accurate information on the results obtained and the process followed. In this respect, what should reasonably be expected from the comprehensive assessment under way?
Inflation expectation indicators also remain low over all horizons, far from the ECB’s 2% benchmark. 2  BIS central bankers’ speeches  However, it must be emphasised that monetary policy’s ability to address the challenges posed by a situation such as that we face today is not without limits. Laying the foundations for a sound and long-lasting recovery in activity, investment and employment requires an approach in concert with other economic policies, especially fiscal policy, along with institutional reform, labour and product market reforms and strengthened European governance. Thus, according to their individual circumstances, euro area countries should use the room for manoeuvre provided for in the Stability and Growth Pact to bolster aggregate demand and growth in activity. Admittedly, in many cases, the precarious state of public finances leaves little room for stimulus measures, such as tax cuts or higher public spending, especially because the countries with most spare capacity are also those with the highest levels of public debt. However, fiscal policy’s contribution to growth is not only determined by revenue and expenditure levels, but also by their composition. In that respect, there is some scope (broader in some countries than in others) for a shift in the tax structure towards taxes that are less distortionary and more favourable to growth. A further objective is to make public expenditure more efficient and direct it to those components that are more favourable to growth.