On 28 June 2012 in Brussels, the leaders of the EU decided to take banking supervision to the European level and explore the idea of a fully fledged banking union. They took a decisive step towards a more united Europe. On 23 June 2016, the people of this country voted to leave the European Union. They took a decisive step away from a united Europe.
Both events – while very different in nature – will fundamentally change Europe. From the perspective of banks and their supervisors, both events have had and will have a huge impact.
The euro area has grown closer together. The single currency has been complemented by a single banking supervisor and a single resolution authority. This was a major step towards safe and sound banks as well as towards a stronger economy. To be sure, the euro area faces some serious challenges, but I am convinced that they are better tackled jointly rather than individually.
Still, the UK is charting a course away from the shores of Europe and into a vast and empty ocean. That makes me think of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, who said: "If you want to build a ship, don't drum up people to collect wood and don't assign them tasks and work, but rather teach them to long for the endless immensity of the sea". It seems that many people in the UK indeed long for the endless immensity of the sea. To them it stands for independence from the EU and for freedom.
However, building a ship and sailing the seven seas still requires collecting wood and assigning tasks and work. These may seem to be small details, but in the real world, the devil is in the detail. Ms Lautenschläger has touched on some of the details that will affect the banks - and these are very intricate and difficult to handle. Now just imagine that there are many other sectors where Brexit will trigger equally complex issues.
The goal should be to find a workable solution that is in the interests of both the British people and the people of the EU.
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