( p. p. ) to 10 p. p. for non - financial corporations, and from 20 to 10 p. p. for families. since the start of the recovery, the reduction in the indebtedness of the private sector as a whole has not prevented new bank lending from flowing to borrowers with potential profitable projects and / or a good export performance. the share of companies whose credit stock has not declined has shown an increasing trend in the last two years and the rate of decline of nfc aggregate debt has moderated. with regard to the public sector, the ratio of debt to gdp is expected to have stabilised in 2015, according to the official targets. should that aim have been accomplished, the upward trend in public debt commencing 2008 would have been finally controlled after an increase of 60 points of gdp. the basis of the recovery : the structural reforms now, i will briefly elaborate on the main reforms which have been the basis of our recovery. these reforms have been oriented towards increasing the flexibility and competitiveness of the economy and addressing previous imbalances. for the sake of brevity, i will concentrate on the labor market reform, the reforms to ensure budgetary discipline and sustainability, and the reforms on the public pension system. labor market reform the labour market reform has been key in the process of correcting the imbalances of the spanish economy, where we can mention, first of all, the losses of competitiveness accumulated between 2002 and 2008 and very high unemployment. the reform approved in 2012 made important changes in the institutional framework, including a reduction in the degree of centralisation of the collective bargaining system, an alleviation of dismissal costs and of the complexity of procedures, and a widening of hiring possibilities. bis central bankers ’ speeches in a nutshell, the reform attempts to avoid repeating the previous pattern under which firms adjusted to an economic slowdown either by dismissing workers or by closing down, providing firms with increased flexibility to link wage negotiations to their particular economic conditions, and the possibility of opting - out from sectoral agreements, giving greater priority to firm - level ones. fiscal adjustment the spanish economy has made visible progress in the redressing of fiscal balances towards levels that are compatible with the sustainability of public finances. the adjustment has required strong measures both on the revenue and the expenditure sides. from near double digit deficits in the early years of the current decade, the deficit was reduced to 5. 9 % of gdp in 2014. the commitments with

learn how firms and consumers are experiencing the economy. that essential insight from main street informs the policy decisions that we make in pursuit of our goals of stable prices, full employment and financial stability. staying connected with main street is also important because the effectiveness of our policy actions is enhanced when private actors have a clear understanding of what our actions are intended to accomplish. for these complex policy decisions, the federal reserve system needs accurate and timely information on business and financial conditions, and the perspectives of participants in markets throughout the united states. economic conditions often differ in various parts of the country, and it is important that the fed takes all of this into account when it formulates policy. this input is particularly important for the second district of the federal reserve, where we sit today, because the forces that drive economic conditions here often do not mirror the forces driving other regional economies. in order to monitor and understand the various aspects of local economic conditions, we utilize a number of different measures. two of these measures we have developed here at the new york fed – a survey of manufacturers and indexes of economic activity. we regularly produce the beige book and report information on local credit conditions. these measures supplement and extend the understanding gleaned from public data sources. we also seek input from regular meetings with several advisory groups representing different facets of the district ’ s economy – such as our small business, upstate new york and thrift institutions panels – and from interactions with key academic researchers at local universities and public policy organizations. we recognize that timely and accurate information about our region, which is highly valuable to us, can also help to reduce uncertainty and inform the economic and financial decisions of regional residents, businesses, communities and governments. to that end, we make our various regional measures and analysis available to the public through our website and a variety of outreach activities. these activities include making presentations on topics of current concern to business and community organizations throughout the district. we welcome you here today to brief you on our views of the current state of activity and employment in the regional economy and to review the rich portfolio of resources that we make available to help monitor economic conditions across the region.