% in february, after – 0. 9 % in january, continuing its gradual recovery from a trough of – 3. 2 % in february 2014. in this respect, the april 2015 bank lending survey confirms that improvements in lending conditions support a further recovery in loan growth, in particular for firms. despite these improvements, the dynamics of loans to non - financial corporations remain subdued and continue to reflect the lagged relationship with the business cycle, credit risk, credit supply factors 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 ) increased further to 1. 0 % in february 2015, after 0. 9 % in january. the monetary policy measures we have put in place should support further improvements both in borrowing costs for firms and households and in credit flows across the euro area. to sum up, a cross - check of the outcome of the economic analysis with the signals coming from the monetary analysis confirms the need to implement firmly the governing council ’ s recent decisions. the full implementation of all our monetary policy measures will provide the necessary support to the euro area recovery and bring inflation rates towards levels below, but close to, 2 % in the medium term. monetary policy is focused on maintaining price stability over the medium term and its accommodative stance contributes to supporting economic activity. however, in order to reap the full benefits from our monetary policy measures, other policy areas must contribute decisively. given continued high structural unemployment and low potential output growth in the euro area, the ongoing cyclical recovery should be supported by effective supply - side measures. in particular, in order to increase investment, boost job creation and raise productivity, both the implementation of product and labour market reforms and actions to improve the business environment for firms need to gain momentum in several countries. a swift and effective implementation of these reforms will not only lead to higher sustainable growth in the euro area but will also raise expectations of permanently higher incomes and encourage both households to expand consumption and firms to increase investment today, thus reinforcing the current economic recovery. fiscal policies should support the economic recovery while remaining in compliance with the stability and growth pact. full and consistent implementation of the pact is key for confidence in our fiscal framework. in view of the necessity to step up structural reform efforts in a number of countries, it is also important that the macroeconomic imbalance procedure is implemented effectively in order to address the excessive imbalances as identified

regulatory framework. for example, the g - sib framework currently penalises cross - border transactions within the banking union by attaching a higher systemic risk score to banks with more of such transactions. this goes against the very rationale of the banking union, as it reduces the incentives for cross - border transactions and risk diversification. the international regulatory framework should recognise the progress that has been made in the banking union and exclude intra banking union positions from the cross - jurisdictional indicators in the g - sib methodology. fourth, there are also some resolution related aspects that warrant further consideration. in particular, the allocation of internal mrel has turned out to be an area of tension between national jurisdictions. jurisdictions with a foreign bank subsidiary prefer to have a high pre - positioning of internal mrel to ensure an orderly resolution of its local subsidiary. however, this implies a certain degree of ring - fencing to the detriment of the foreign parent bank. the compromise reached by member states in the council only allows that internal mrel is 1 / 2 bis central bankers'speeches waived if the resolution entity and the subsidiary are located in the same member state, neglecting the fact that we have achieved so much in terms of joint supervision and resolution among euro area countries. to account for this progress, internal mrel waivers on a crossborder basis in the banking union should be allowed as this would contribute to continuous cross - border banking, e. g. by generating efficiency gains and promoting further integration. therefore, it should also be possible to use guarantees to replace internal mrel and allow for more flexibility in the allocation of resources within the banking union. of course, to install confidence it will be important to have adequate safeguards in place, including that there is no legal or practical impediments to the provision of support by the parent to the subsidiary, in particular when the resolution action is taken. 2 / 2 bis central bankers'speeches