under these circumstances, the overnight call rate continues to move at around zero percent. longer - term interest rates remain steady at low levels. yields on long - term government bonds have declined to the 0. 4 - 0. 5 percent level, as banks and institutional investors continue to increase investment in government bonds. yield spreads between private bonds ( bank bonds and corporate bonds ) and government bonds are at historical lows. stock prices have risen following the recovery in u. s. and european stock prices. the nikkei 225 stock average is recently moving at the 8, 500 - 9, 000 yen level. in the foreign exchange market, the yen depreciated as market participants became sensitive to a possible market intervention and as some u. s. economic indicators improved. the yen is currently traded in the range of 117 - 119 yen to the u. s. dollar. with regard to corporate finance, private banks remain cautious in extending loans to firms with high credit risks while they continue to be more active in extending loans to blue - chip companies. recently, their lending attitudes seem to be becoming slightly more accommodative in areas such as interest margin charges. meanwhile, the lending attitudes of financial institutions as perceived by firms, particularly small ones, remain severe. in the corporate bond and cp markets, the issuing environment for firms with high credit ratings continues to be accommodative, and the environment for firms with relatively low credit ratings is improving. credit demand in the private sector continues to follow a downtrend mainly because business fixed investment is at low levels and firms are continuously reducing their debts. amid these developments, private banks ’ lending continues to decline by about 2. 0 - 2. 5 percent on a year - on - year basis. the amount outstanding of corporate bonds and cp issued is moving at around the previous year ’ s level. meanwhile, according to business surveys, although there seem to be slight improvements, financial positions of firms, particularly those of small firms, remain severe. the year - on - year growth rate of the monetary base rose somewhat and is around 15 percent. the year - on - year growth rate of the money stock is around 1. 5 percent. funding costs for firms continue to be at extremely low levels on the whole. against the above background, the financial developments are summarized as follows. money market conditions continue to be extremely easy due partly to the additional monetary easing by the bank. long - term interest rates are declining further and stock prices are recently

individual and corporate – who have accounts in more than one country or do business with companies in other countries. there are therefore many benefits of a harmonised retail payments market with common instruments, i. e. sepa. as 50 % of the cross - border trade of euro area countries is with other euro area countries, small and medium - sized enterprises will benefit immensely from the harmonisation across national borders within the euro area. also, large companies that operate in almost every european country, such as mobile phone operators, energy suppliers and petrol station chains, will gain from sepa. for those companies, managing up to 27 bank accounts, 27 standards for electronic communication with the bank or 27 different sets of requirements for card payment terminals is a truly costly business. the eurosystem therefore continues to strongly support the creation of sepa, in which “ individuals and companies are able to make cashless payments throughout the euro area sepa comprises the countries of the eu plus norway, iceland, liechtenstein, switzerland and monaco, as well as oversees territories of eu countries. from a single payment account anywhere in the euro area, using a single set of payment instruments as easily, efficiently and safely as they can make them today at the national level ”. sepa is needed in order to move towards a more integrated, competitive and innovative payments market in europe, which will bring substantial economic benefits. celebrating the sdd launch today is indeed very reassuring for the whole sepa process, and for all the efforts that are going into this project, not least for us at the ecb, who wholeheartedly support the sepa project. i am often asked the question : “ has the financial crisis made banks less likely to support the sepa projects? ” my response is usually that, as a result of the crisis, banks are once again focusing on their core business, which is attracting savings, providing loans and offering payment services. in terms of offering payment services, sepa provides a competitive, efficient and innovative retail payments market in europe. less money is available for it projects, but the business case for sepa has not changed. i have noted that more than 2, 500 banks have already signed up for the sdd service, which is a outstanding achievement, and one that few people had dared to hope for just eight months ago. back then, the epc was deliberating whether to launch the sdd on time, because many obstacles were still seen to be in the way. it also means that i