. bis central bankers ’ speeches second, we took additional non - standard measures to ensure that our interest rate decisions were transmitted effectively to the broader economy, despite the volatilities in the financial sector. if banks cannot easily access the money market or other sources of finance, they may not extend credit to households and companies, to the detriment of economic growth and employment. at the outset of the crisis in 2007, the ecb reacted immediately to the rapidly worsening liquidity conditions and heightened credit risk, particularly in the interbank markets. when stress in the financial markets re - emerged in the autumn of last year, the governing council of the ecb again took a series of measures to enhance the provision of liquidity to the banking system and to actively support lending, notably introducing two very long - term refinancing operations with a maturity of three years, which were conducted in december last year and in february this year. the exceptionally long maturity of these operations gave banks a longer horizon for their liquidity planning. it is also helping them to deleverage in a balanced and orderly manner over the medium term, thereby avoiding “ fire sales ” of assets and a downscaling of longer - term lending. at the same time, it is crucial that all the crisis measures taken by the ecb to ensure monetary stability in the euro area – the standard and the non - standard – do not create adverse incentives for market participants or unanchor inflationary expectations. for this reason, the ecb has been very clear that the measures it has taken are designed to be temporary in nature. let me also emphasise that our non - standard measures do not in any way impinge upon our capacity to tighten our monetary policy stance in response to inflationary pressures. in all our actions, we have been careful to keep inflation expectations well - anchored and have remained faithful to our mandate to preserve price stability in the euro area over the medium term. our mandate is what has guided, and will continue to guide, all our monetary policy decisions. but the success of the ecb ’ s crisis measures in maintaining monetary stability in the euro area should not let anyone believe that monetary policy is the medicine that can solve the underlying, more structural problems in the euro area. the lasting resolution of the crisis is the responsibility of the euro area governments. the euro area governments ’ responses to the crisis euro area governments face three main challenges. first, they need to address the internal and external macroeconomic imbalance

otherwise the room for manoeuvre in our future monetary policy would be permanently limited. the federal reserve is currently reviewing its monetary policy strategy. should the ecb follow this example? i believe that it is time for a review. the world is changing. for instance, we should analyse how other central banks behave when it comes to inflation targets. the importance of monetary policy instruments should also play a role. the best way might be to carry out a review at regular intervals. if it comes to a fundamental discussion of the new strategy under new ecb president christine lagarde in future, would a change in the inflation aim also be conceivable? maybe also a higher objective? 5 / 6 bis central bankers'speeches an objective of around 2 % has established itself as the international norm. deviating greatly from this could create uncertainty and pose risks, as it could, for example, generate undesirable capital flows, for instance. 6 / 6 bis central bankers'speeches