Interview: Banks must be able to go bankrupt if necessary

europarltv 2012-11-21

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Andrea Enria, Chairman of the EBA, the European Banking Authority, you are visiting the European Parliament. The European Council has given the ECB the role of policing the banks, which partly contributed to the crisis that we are in now. What role will you now play in monitoring the banks? First of all I have to say that this transition is vital. The crisis has had a massive impact and a single currency controlled by national banks cannot work. It's important for the banks to be under EU supervision. It's not a question of who does it, but of doing it at European level. The division of tasks between us and the ECB will mean that we set out the rules for all the banks in the single market, in all 27 countries in the European Union, while the ECB will monitor the banks in the eurozone. We will need to work together and we will coordinate the ECB and the other authorities which will still have monitoring responsibilities on a national level in the UK, Sweden, Poland and other non-eurozone countries. Do you think that all banks should be monitored? There's debate at the moment over whether these changes should apply to all banking institutions or just those with branches in different countries. Regarding the centralisation of responsibility, I think the ECB should monitor all of the banks. Having some banks in a country under EU supervision and others under national supervision could create instability in crisis situations, with transfers from one bank to another. It's best if all banks are under EU supervision. The practical monitoring can be decentralised. The ECB can rely on national authorities to carry out checks, especially on local banks such as cooperatives and building societies. So there will be a decentralised approach, but the EU will have ultimate responsibility. So the ECB will be looking down from above and you will be setting the rules. Who's to say that the national inspectors will do their job better now? They'll still be the ones checking the figures. No rules or controls can guarantee that a bank won't collapse. Banks will still collapse. The important thing is to have mechanisms to ensure that we can manage these collapses and avoid excessive bills for taxpayers. So, thinking of Dexia, could you guarantee that a crisis like this could be avoided in future? Exactly. -You'd step in, would you? The point is that banks must be able to collapse. For me, if we have another Dexia... -At last somebody's said it! If we have another Dexia tomorrow, it can leave the market without being a burden to taxpayers. We would make Dexia's creditors and shareholders pay, all the interested parties, letting the bank leave the market and limiting the impact on public finance. Good luck. Thank you. Goodbye. -Thank you. Goodbye.

EuroparlTV video ID: b6d2391f-2882-4332-af39-a0d200eee675

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