other hand, the improvement in economic activities has not stimulated corporate demand for external funds, since firms ’ cash flow is increasing in parallel with a recovery in profits. moreover, firms continue to reduce debts as part of their balance - sheet restructuring measures. as a result, credit demand in the private sector has continued to be basically stagnant. in view of this, the underlying tone of private banks ’ lending seems to remain sluggish although its year - on - year rate of decline slowed in april for the second consecutive month. issuance of corporate bonds and cp has been steady. money stock ( m2 + cds ) grew faster in april compared with the previous month on a year - on - year basis. in this financial environment, corporate financing conditions are easing, and the lending attitude of financial institutions is perceived by firms as less severe. it continues to warrant careful monitoring how these favorable developments in the corporate financing environment will affect economic activities.

billion ( figure 4 ). for the two - year period of 2009 and 2010, this means that, altogether, there were write - downs of some €60 billion. in the 2009 financial stability review, we estimated a figure of between €50 billion and €75 billion. the actual write - downs are therefore in the lower half of the expected range. the stability review also contains a stress test on the profitability of german banks in interest rate business and commission and fee business ( figure 5 ). the relevant risk scenario assumes a marked flattening of the yield curve ( decline of 55 basis points in the spread between the three - month interest rate and the yield in ten - year bunds ) and a severe economic slump ( 4 % decline in gdp ). in the current economic situation, this is undoubtedly a very sceptical assumption. operating income ( excluding the trading result ) shows a distinct fall in this scenario : net interest income for the german banking system as a whole ( measured by total assets ) will go down by almost 8 % ; cyclically driven commission and fee income will fall by 10 %. added to this are large write - downs in the event the assumed recession materialises. according to our estimates, these would surge to around €35 billion again ; in other words, they would be €9 billion higher than the average of the past five years. iv. monitoring systemic risk central banks, including the bundesbank, are facing new challenges. they have to identify systemic risks at an early stage, which places high demands on analytical skills. any systemic risks that are identified have to be rigorously contained. the refinements of the international regulatory framework that have already been put in place represent a gain for financial stability. the course has been set for an improvement in banks ’ capitalisation and liquidity. these measures will pay off in the long run and significantly enhance the stability of the financial system. i do not share the often - voiced fears in this connection about an excessive burden being placed on the banking sector. nevertheless, there remains much to be done. this mainly has to do with the treatment of systemically important financial institutions and the financial system ’ s tendency towards ( pro ) cyclical behaviour. we, too, have to keep a closer eye on the limitations of the areas covered by regulation. after all, stricter regulation is of little use if activities are transferred to unregulated sectors and become concentrated there. for that reason, we have to throw a