Monetary Scoreboard Dublin (Eurofi)

Summary

• The aggregate monetary base of OECD countries increased from $2.5 trillion in 2000 to a peak of $25 trillion in March 2022.p.8
• Chronically accommodative monetary policy pushed global debt to an all-time high of 338% of world GDP in 2022.p.6
• Central bank balance sheets in advanced economies reached 69% of GDP in 2021 before declining to 44% as of mid-2026.p.8
• Between January 2008 and June 2022, the Federal Reserve balance sheet grew by 890%, while the Eurosystem balance sheet grew by 560%.p.9
• The ECB increased its key interest rates by 450 basis points between July 2022 and September 2023, while the Fed raised them by 550 basis points between March 2022 and August 2023.p.6
• At the OECD level, headline CPI inflation declined from 9,4% in December 2022 to 3,3% in January 2026.p.43

Key insights

1. Asset purchase programmes led central bank balance sheets to expand by over 500% between 2008 and 2022.p.4
2. Global debt rose from $113 tn at the end of 2007 to $262 tn by the fourth quarter of 2025.p.18
3. Prolonged large-scale asset purchases compressed term and credit risk premia, distorting market pricing of risks.p.21
4. The estimated share of zombie firms among listed non-financial companies across 14 advanced economies rose from 9% in 2008 to 13% in 2023.p.33
5. In 2021, the Eurosystem purchased €904.7 billion in public debt, representing 143.9% of total Euro area government net issuances.p.25
6. The escalations in Iran in late February 2026 caused crude flow losses exceeding 10 million barrels a day and drove Brent prices up by 67%.p.46