( s & l ) crisis intensified in the late 1980s and after the global financial crisis in 2008. that said, even if financial stress arises, it is not easy to accurately predict its impact on the real economy. monetary tightening is intended to curb overheating of the economy and return it to a " goldilocks " situation. however, if financial stress increases before the economy returns to a proper level of economic growth, it will become difficult to provide an outlook for economic activity and prices, and policymakers will face a hard decision : whether to continue monetary tightening, to halt it, or to shift to monetary easing. for example, if the shift to monetary easing is premature, there is concern that an insufficient curbing of an overheated economy may lead to the entrenchment of high inflation. on the other hand, if the shift to monetary easing is put off and financial stress intensifies significantly, the adverse impact on the economy could increase. although the united states has experienced multiple bank failures since march 2023, the financial market seems to have regained stability, owing to swift responses by the u. s. authorities. a review by u. s. supervisory bodies and other analyses have pointed out that bankruptcies were attributable to the peculiar structure of the financial institutions'balance sheets and the poor level of risk management, such that these institutions were unable to adhere to basic practices for managing interest rate and liquidity risks. it seems to be widely recognized therefore that these bankruptcies were basically caused by factors at the level of individual institutions. the downside risks to the u. s. economy that i explained, if they were to materialize, could have a significant impact on japan's economy. it is therefore imperative that the bank carefully monitor the course of developments, including financial conditions. ii. conduct of monetary policy basic idea i would like to present my views regarding the bank's conduct of monetary policy, based on the current economic and price developments and the future scenario i have explained so far ( chart 12 ). since 2022, particularly in the face of rising prices, some have suggested that the time has come for the bank to revise its monetary policy. indeed, with observed inflation rates increasing at a fast pace and expected rates showing a moderate rise, i consider that a change has started to take hold in the deflationary mindset or people's perception of inflation that prices will not rise. in that sense, we are coming closer to

to autumn 2010, when the program was introduced, it started off at a size of about 35 trillion yen ; within two years, its size increased by about 56 trillion yen to about 91 trillion yen and its timing of completion was also extended from end - 2011 to end - 2013. the bank has clearly stated that it aims to achieve the goal of 1 percent for the time being in terms of the year - on - year rate of increase in the cpi through the pursuit of powerful monetary easing, conducting its virtually zero interest rate policy and implementing the program mainly through the purchase of financial assets, as was announced back in february 2012. the bank is determined to continue with this powerful easing until it judges the 1 percent goal to be in sight, while it will ascertain whether there is any significant risk to the sustainability of economic growth, including from the accumulation of financial imbalances. the second aspect of the bank ’ s decision is the establishment of a new lending facility called the “ stimulating bank lending facility ” ( chart 11 ). under this facility, the bank will provide funds to financial institutions, at their request, up to an amount equivalent to the net increase in their lending. the total amount of funds provided by the bank will be “ unlimited ” – that is, there shall be no upper limit. if we take account of the fact that firms ’ overseas activities and financial institutions ’ support of such activities through lending have important implications for the development of japan ’ s economy in the midst of economic globalization, then financial institutions ’ lending can be the form of either yen - denominated or foreign currencydenominated. the interest rate charged by the bank will be equivalent to its target for the uncollateralized overnight call rate at the time of loan disbursement, and is currently for details on various issues concerning the bank ’ s monetary policy conduct, please see masaaki shirakawa, “ toward sustainable growth with price stability ” ( speech at the kisaragi - kai meeting in tokyo ), november 12, 2012. http : / / www. boj. or. jp / en / announcements / press / koen _ 2012 / data / ko121112a1. pdf bis central bankers ’ speeches 0. 1 percent per annum. furthermore, loans can be rolled over up to four years at the request of financial institutions. in sum, these institutions can have access to long - term stable funding at a low cost through the bank. according to data for the