at 6. 6 % in october 2013, slightly down from 6. 7 % in september. or they diversify away from short - term deposits and marketable instruments towards better remunerated – but riskier and less liquid – instruments. to the extent these instruments are outside m3, this dampens the growth in the broader monetary aggregate. bis central bankers ’ speeches on a positive note, we are observing some strong net inflows of capital from outside the euro area that support monetary dynamics. since these inflows are directed at both, stressed and non - stressed euro area countries, they help mitigate financial fragmentation. at the same time, it remains important to reinvigorate sources of money creation also from inside the euro area as the recovery takes hold. in this context, we have to acknowledge that the provision of credit to the real economy continued to contract, even if the pace of that contraction has levelled off recently. the annual growth rate of loans to households stood at 0. 3 % in october, broadly unchanged since the turn of the year. 1 at the same time, the annual rate of change of loans to non - financial corporations was – 2. 9 % in october, compared with – 2. 8 % in september. but on the other for larger firms other sources of financing have been more available. these weak loan dynamics for non - financial corporations continue to reflect primarily their lagged relationship with the business cycle, the overall heightened credit risk and the ongoing deleveraging and overall adjustment of financial and non - financial sector balance sheets, also related to past excesses. the ecb ’ s comprehensive balance sheet assessment, including asset quality review and stress test, should lead to greater clarity on the state of the banking sector. combined with appropriate resolution strategies and backstops, this will strengthen banks ’ balance sheets and ultimately improve the prospects for bank lending in the future. implications for monetary policy how should monetary policy act in these conditions? assessed against our price stability objective, the subdued inflation outlook, on the back of weak economic and monetary dynamics, clearly warrants an accommodative stance. it is against this background that we lowered rates in november. and it is against this background that we expect our key interest rates to remain at present or lower levels for an extended period of time. taking stock of the effects that our recent policy measures have had on economic and financial conditions, we see positive signs emerging. the november rate cut has been followed by a pronounced and persistent

mario draghi : europe and the euro – a family affair keynote speech by mr mario draghi, president of the european central bank, at the conference “ europe and the euro – a family affair ”, organised by the bundesverband der deutschen industrie and bundesvereinigung der deutschen arbeitgeberverbande, berlin, 16 september 2013. * * * ladies and gentlemen, thank you for inviting me to speak to you today. it is a great pleasure to be part of an event that brings together entrepreneurs and family businesses from across the euro area. such a gathering reflects many of the reasons why europe established a single currency in the first place – to deepen the integration of our economies by making it easier for firms and households to exchange across national borders ; to encourage the small - and medium - sized enterprises that are so important for growth and job creation ; and to give citizens across europe an impetus to work together. reading the resolution that you plan to adopt at this conference, i am very encouraged by the determination that you show to take the euro area forward – and i naturally support your central objectives of promoting sustainable growth. today, i would like to share with you some thoughts on how to achieve sustainable growth in the euro area from an ecb perspective. there are two main components. the first component is stabilising the euro area, as without a stable foundation there can be no growth. the second component is strengthening the euro area – by ensuring sustainable economic policies in all member countries, by increasing the competitiveness of our economies and by completing the institutional architecture of economic and monetary union ( emu ). my main message is that we have made significant progress on the first step, stabilising the euro area. but there is still work to do to transform this achievement into higher growth and employment. strengthening the euro area through sustainable policies, higher competitiveness and stronger common institutions is therefore our priority for today. stabilising the euro area let me begin by reviewing the measures that have been taken to stabilise the euro area. last year, the euro area faced difficult circumstances. fears about extreme events were leading to severe tensions in financial markets. borrowing costs for some governments had risen to very high levels. and market sources of financing for banks in some countries were drying up : for example, between april and july 36 billion euro of spanish bank bonds matured, but no more than half a billion euro could be newly issued during that period