supporting annual m3 growth. the annual rate of change of loans to non - financial corporations ( adjusted for loan sales and securitisation ) was – 3. 1 % in march, unchanged from february. weak loan dynamics for nonfinancial corporations continue to reflect their lagged relationship with the business cycle, credit risk 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 ) stood at 0. 4 % in march 2014, broadly unchanged since the beginning of 2013. the april 2014 bank lending survey confirmed the stabilisation of credit conditions for loans to enterprises and households. credit standards over the previous three months remained broadly unchanged for loans to enterprises but were eased in net terms for households. broadly in line with these results, in the survey on the access to finance of small and medium - sized enterprises ( smes ) for the period october 2013 - march 2014, smes reported that bank loan availability had become less negative and had actually improved in some euro area countries. according to both surveys, the general economic outlook contributed less negatively or even positively to these developments. at the same time, banks still reported tight levels of credit standards when seen in a historical perspective. since the summer of 2012, substantial progress has been made in improving the funding situation of banks. in order to ensure an adequate transmission of monetary policy to the financing conditions in euro area countries, it is essential that the fragmentation of euro area credit markets declines further and that the resilience of banks is strengthened where needed. in this context, the ongoing comprehensive assessment of banks ’ balance sheets is of key importance. banks should take full advantage of this exercise to improve their capital and solvency position, thereby contributing to overcome any existing credit supply restriction that could hamper the recovery. to sum up, the economic analysis confirms our expectation of a prolonged period of low inflation followed by only a gradual upward movement in hicp inflation rates towards levels closer to 2 %. a cross - check with the signals from the monetary analysis confirms the picture of subdued underlying price pressures in the euro area over the medium term. regarding fiscal policies, according to the european commission ’ s spring forecast, the general government deficit in the euro area is expected to decline further, from 3. 0 % of gdp in 2013 to 2. 5 % this year and to 2. 3 % in 2015. the government debt - to - gdp ratio is expected to stabilise

alan greenspan : cyclicality and banking regulation remarks by mr alan greenspan, chairman of the board of governors of the us federal reserve system, at the conference on bank structure and competition, federal reserve bank of chicago, chicago, illinois, 10 may 2002. * * * my congratulations to mike moskow and his colleagues for once again designing and implementing an excellent and topical program, with some very interesting papers. the theme of the conference - financial market behavior and appropriate regulation over the business cycle - - could not be more relevant for a group of central and commercial bankers, not to mention our academic friends. to be sure, there are those that believe that a regulation should be considered totally independently of either current business conditions or the regulation's implications for financial markets. this position is predicated on the view that the reason for the regulation - - in the case of financial markets, usually prudential behavior, consumer protection, or community reinvestment - - is an end in itself and should require that macro policymakers adjust to the regulation. indeed, some of what we do is that. but our emphasis today is the need to be sensitive to the market and cyclical implications of the regulations we adopt. the conference theme does not imply cyclical effects or market responses should dominate the decision about applying a rule that may be needed for other purposes. rather, our assignment at this conference is to consider, as part of the policymaking and evaluation process, the joint implications of our regulatory - - and, i should add, our supervisory - - policies both for their intended purposes and for financial markets and cyclical stability. cyclicality in financial markets and intermediation financial markets and intermediaries are part of the macroeconomic cyclical process, and thus new rules involving these markets and institutions need to be evaluated in that context. this is an important reason, in my judgment, why central banks in general, and the federal reserve in particular, should remain in the bank regulatory business. it is evident that regulatory rules can add to ongoing macroeconomic and asset - quality cyclicality. rules are constraints or limits that require responses as those limits are approached. sometimes those limits - - say capital constraints - - may induce tighter lending standards or shrinking balance sheets for a number of institutions at the same time, engendering significant real business - cycle effects. we must, therefore, be aware of the implications beyond the original intent of a rule and consider its associated tradeoffs. government programs, too, often