In normal times, if the ECB lowers its key rates, the banks’ financing costs decrease, allowing them to pass these lower costs on to the lending rates they offer to customers, companies or households. BIS central bankers’ speeches  3  However, we noticed that this channel was no longer functioning correctly in the euro area. In fact, we noticed that a drop in key rates was feeding through to lower lending rates in certain parts of the euro area, but not everywhere. This means a fundamental aspect of our monetary policy and of its efficacy – i.e. its singleness – was impaired. As a result, major differences in bank lending rates appeared across euro area countries, which could not be explained by disparities by the fundamentals of the countries concerned. For example, two hotels with the same activities and financial characteristics and located on each side of the Austro-Italian border are obliged to borrow at substantially different rates. This is not because of a real difference in the credit risk. In reality, this rate differential stems from the fact that certain segments of the financial markets had developed fears regarding a possible break-up of the euro area. They were adding to the rates they were offering certain countries a risk premium to cover a “re-denomination” of bonds into the local currency.
The public deficit of the euro area has shrunk from 6.3% in 2009 to 4.1% in 2011. At the current juncture, this is clearly an asset for us and an element of confidence both for the markets and  BIS central bankers’ speeches  1  economic agents, and needs to be further enhanced. In addition to these efforts at the national level, a much stronger framework for common discipline has been put in place, which represents a major step forward towards a more integrated economic union. It is crucial that all of the efforts in this area are pursued with determination. Now turning to competitiveness, here too the progress already made in terms of structural reforms and the adjustment of unit production costs in many countries is very encouraging. Never in the recent past have the European economies been reformed so much in such a short space of time. I could cite many examples, in Spain (labour market and financial sector reforms), Italy (pension and services market reforms) and in France, where an important pension reform was made in 2010 and where structural reforms on the labour market and on the goods and services market are in preparation. These structural reforms constitute the necessary foundation for dynamic and sustainable growth in the future and they must be vigorously pursued. Furthermore, at the European level, the new Stability Pact includes a surveillance mechanism for macroeconomic imbalances, which had been missing up till now.