The European Parliament's Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs approved, on Tuesday 20 November, by a large majority (42 votes in favour, 1 against, 9 abstentions), the appointment of the current President of the European Banking Authority, Andrea Enria, as Chair of the Supervisory Board of the Single Supervisory Mechanism, the ECB body responsible for directly supervising the main banking groups within the euro area banking union (see EUROPE 12132).
Heard before the vote, Mr Enria identified several priorities for his non-renewable five-year term: - the cleaning of bank balance sheets and, in particular, the reduction of the stock of non-performing loans; - the promotion of European integration in the banking sector, which remains largely fragmented ten years after the financial crisis; - better preparation for market and funding risks.
Mr Enria's speech was preceded by that of his predecessor, Danièle Nouy (France), who will leave office at the end of December.
“There is apparently a particular sensitivity in the market regarding the Italian government's budgetary objectives", but, at this stage, "I do not think that we have reached a level that represents a major source of concern for banks", she said on this occasion.
It will be up to the European Parliament's mini plenary session to ratify the parliamentary committee's position at the end of November before the Ecofin Council formally appoints Mr Enria. (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)