would be the bank's 2009 statements regarding the conditional commitment to keeping the key policy rate untouched for a year, so long as the inflation rate remained unaffected during this time. Forward guidance, when partnered with conditional commitments, is both an effective and credible approach, allowing the bank to deliver on its commitment as long as the condition in question is upheld. Large-scale asset purchases Although the Bank of Canada engages in asset purchases regularly as for its balance sheets to grow with the economy and enable the distribution of a growing stock of bank notes, in this circumstance, it would go beyond even that to participate in large-scale asset purchases. Often referred to as quantitative easing, large-scale asset purchases involve establishing new reserves for the purpose of purchasing large quantities of securities, for example government bonds or private assets, such as mortgage-backed securities, from the private sector. The benefits to these purchases are three-fold: The creation of new liquidity in the central banking system, which results in an increase of available credit should the system be tightened, resulting in supported economic growth; The lowered interest rate on purchased assets, flattening the yield curve and bringing longer-term interest rates down towards short-term interest rate levels; The downward pressure on the exchange rate, boosting aggregate demand through increased export sales, resulting in more revenue measured in domestic currency. Funding for credit The third unconventional monetary policy tool is funding for credit, which ensures economically-important sectors continue to have access to funding, even if the supply of credit is impaired. In order for this to be effective, the Bank of Canada would provide collateralized funding to others at a subsidized rate as long as they met specified lending objectives. This tool is designed to encourage lending to households and businesses when banks may otherwise face increasing funding costs. Negative interest rates Pushing for short-term interest rates below zero has become common amongst many banks, including ECB and Swiss National Bank. Due to the negative interest rates, these financial markets have adapted when faced with a financial crisis and continue to function. The Bank of Canada believes the Canadian financial market is capable of functioning in a negative interest rate environment and, as such, added it to its toolkit for unconventional monetary policy measures. In previous years, the Bank of Canada had a predetermined sequence of measures in place should a crisis take