"With the ECB as head supervisory authority, the European banking sector will be made more stable", said Michael Kemmer, General Manager of the Association of German Banks
“The proposals presented by the European Commission are another big step on the way to a strong financial marketplace", said Kemmer.
It was right to give the ECB responsibility for supervising all banks in the eurozone. Any distinction between allegedly systemically important and systemically unimportant banks would be wrong. The crisis had shown that risks emanate not only from big international banks. Northern Rock, IKB and the Spanish cajas were not among Europe’s big banks. “So it is a good thing that the ECB is to have the power to oversee all banks in the eurozone, as the same supervisory rules must apply to the same business and the same risk. When it comes to supervision in practice, not much should change for small and medium-sized banks in particular”, Mr Kemmer added. The national supervisors under the umbrella of the ECB would still play a major role in day-to-day supervision.
“The timetable presented by the Commission is ambitious”, Mr Kemmer continued. So it was all the more important to equip the ECB quickly with the necessary resources for its tasks to allow effective supervision.
At the same time, Mr Kemmer pointed out that, while the new supervisory system meant more stability for the European financial marketplace, it did not resolve the sovereign debt crisis. This was still up to politicians. “A European supervisory authority is a key pillar for the foundations of the EU. But it cannot support the house on its own.”
The Association of German Banks believed that the further steps towards a European banking union should take much more time. Particularly a common deposit guarantee scheme with shared liability for deposits was not an issue at present. First there had to be agreement on the European deposit guarantee schemes directive, with the established national schemes remaining in place. As things stood at present, further harmonisation was inconceivable without much stronger political integration in Europe.
Press release
© BDB - Bundesverband Deutscher Banken
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