june 2016 eurosystem staff macroeconomic projections for the euro area, which foresee annual hicp inflation at 0. 2 % in 2016, 1. 3 % in 2017 and 1. 6 % in 2018. in comparison with the march 2016 ecb staff macroeconomic projections, the outlook for hicp inflation has been revised slightly up for 2016, reflecting recent oil price increases, and has remained unchanged for 2017 and 2018. turning to the monetary analysis, broad money ( m3 ) continued to grow at a robust pace in april 2016, with its annual rate of growth standing at 4. 6 %, after 5. 0 % in march. as in previous months, annual growth in m3 is mainly supported by its most liquid components, with the narrow monetary aggregate m1 growing at an annual rate of 9. 7 % in april, after 10. 1 % in march. loan dynamics followed the path of gradual recovery observed since the beginning of 2014. the annual rate of change of loans to non - financial corporations ( adjusted for loan sales and securitisation ) stood at 1. 2 % in april 2016, compared with 1. 1 % in march. developments in loans to enterprises continue to reflect the lagged relationship with the business cycle, credit risk and the ongoing adjustment of financial and non - financial sector balance sheets. the annual growth rate of loans to households ( adjusted for loan sales and securitisation ) remained broadly stable at 1. 5 % in april, after 1. 6 % in march. the monetary policy measures in place since june 2014 have clearly improved borrowing conditions for firms and households, as well as credit flows across the euro area. the comprehensive package of new monetary policy measures adopted in march this year underpins the ongoing upturn in loan growth, thereby supporting the recovery of the real economy. to sum up, a cross - check of the outcome of the economic analysis with the signals coming from the monetary analysis confirmed the need to preserve an appropriate degree of monetary accommodation in order to secure a return of inflation rates towards levels that are below, but close to, 2 % without undue delay. monetary policy is focused on maintaining price stability over the medium term and its accommodative stance supports economic activity. as emphasised repeatedly by the governing council, and as again strongly echoed in both european and international policy discussions, in order to reap the full benefits from our monetary policy measures, other policy areas must contribute much more decisively, both at the national and at the european

##ing in target. the scheme will apply whenever the same - day processing of payment orders within target cannot be completed. the reimbursement scheme is intended to compensate participants for certain higher costs they incur in having recourse to the standing facilities of the eurosystem as a result of a malfunctioning. in order to ensure a level playing field, the scheme also applies to participants in euro real - time gross settlement ( rtgs ) systems of non - participating national central banks. the legal framework for this reimbursement scheme is reflected in an amended “ target guideline ” which, in line with the ecb ’ s policy of enhanced transparency, will be published in the official journal of the european communities and made available on the ecb ’ s website shortly. second, the governing council addressed issues relating to cross - border retail payment services, which are of particular interest for euro area consumers. you may recall that the ecb published a report on this subject a year ago, calling on the banking industry to improve the unsatisfactory service level for cross - border credit transfers before january 2002. today, on the basis of a progress report, we have reviewed the advances of the banking industry against the objectives set by the eurosystem and we have identified the outstanding issues that need quickly to be addressed. a press release on this topic will be issued later on today. the progress report will be available on the ecb ’ s website shortly.