Ten years on, is the euro-zone out of the woods?

Ten years ago this week marked the start of the global financial crisis and a challenging time for the euro-zone economy. In many respects, the euro-zone finally appears to be out of the woods. Growth has picked up strongly in recent quarters, unemployment is falling, reforms appear to have borne fruit and the region’s banks are far better capitalised than they were in 2008. But not all banks are healthy and the crisis has left huge costs that have yet to be met. High levels of government debt across the region mean that there is little chance of fiscal policy supporting growth, so monetary policy will have to continue picking up the slack. Meanwhile, political risks remain.