Financial stability is the ultimate goal of macroprudential policy. Banco de Portugal has defined four intermediate objectives to ensure that this utter aim is more easily achieved. To each intermediate objective corresponds an indicative set of macroprudential instruments, as described in the macroprudential toolkit. This list of instruments is regularly evaluated and should not be considered at any moment as closed, as the complexity and ongoing evolution of the financial system may require a revision of the toolkit. Additionally, Banco de Portugal may design other macroprudential measures that it considers as necessary to maintain financial stability.
The Statute of the Banco de Portugal, the Legal Framework of Credit Institutions and Financial Companies as amended by Decree-Law No. 157/2014 of 24 October, which transposed into national legislation Directive 2013/36/EU (CRD IV), and the Regulation (EU) No. 575/2013 (CRR) provide the legal basis for the implementation of these macroprudential measures.