As a result of these developments, interbank interest rates moved on a downtrend, to around 4.5 per cent at end-September.

A sustained decline in bank-to-bank interest rates is vital in the normalization of lending to all borrowers including companies and consumers, analysts said.

Many euro-zone corporate and household loans use those interbank rates as a benchmark.

While the rates at which banks lend to one another for longer periods of time have fallen somewhat as the ECB has flooded money markets with funds, they remain well above historical averages.

The BoE, which says it could take about 9 months for the impact of QE to become visible, said lending to firms had actually fallen and spreads on bank loans remained high.