At its annual conference on Tuesday 13 February, the Single Resolution Board (SRB), the European authority responsible for resolving the major European banks within the eurozone banking union, unveiled the three main thrusts of its strategy up to 2028.
This new strategy, which is “more of an evolution than a revolution”, should help “manage the financial risks” inherent in the banking sector and prepare for any eventuality, said SRB Chair Dominique Laboureix.
In his view, the European authority’s first priority will be to improve bank resolution tools by further testing the ability of the banks concerned to cope with potential crises, in particular through on-site inspections.
The second area of work will be to streamline the procedures for interacting with the banking industry in order to improve transparency and predictability. Mr Laboureix noted that the timetable for the SRB Council’s requests to the banks for the whole of 2024 had recently been published. There will also be a focus on strengthening a common banking resolution culture with national competent authorities, data management capacity and cyber security.
Finally, the third area of work concerns the human resources of the SRB Council, which will need to be able to attract and retain the best talent.
SRF. Mr Laboureix also confirmed that in 2024 the SRB Council will not raise financial contributions from the banking sector to top up the Single Resolution Fund (SRF), the financial arm of the ‘resolution’ strand of the banking union. By the end of 2023, it had reached its full capacity of 78 billion euros, or 1% of covered bank deposits, and is now fully mutualised.
To see the SRB Council’s new strategy, go to https://aeur.eu/f/au1 (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)