And there could be a multiplier in respect of the creation of credit - because when banks lend via this form of so-called asset-backed finance, they are allowed by the capital-adequacy rules to allocate half as much of their precious capital resources as when providing overdraft loans.
But because banks are using central-bank liquidity to plug holes in their short-term funding, the money multiplier is collapsing: even as reserves swell, broad-money and credit growth is wilting.