Without such intervention net new mortgage lending - gross new home loans minus repayments and redemptions - would fall below zero in 2009 and see only a modest recovery in 2010, he said.
The gross profit margins (revenue minus the cost of goods sold) at other hardware makers have collapsed to commodity levels of 30%, but Cisco's have climbed to 70%.
At an afternoon session, panelists said the European stress tests should be more severe than the U.S. tests where a severe scenario was defined as one where there was minus 3% gross domestic product growth.