A striking asymmetry defines the European Central Bank (ECB)’s approach to democratic accountability. Today’s ECB makes choices of a more complex and discretionary nature than originally envisaged for it by the 1992 Maastricht Treaty. At the same time, the central bank continues to hew...

The lingering pandemic and associated lockdown measures have undoubtedly an impact on banks’ balance sheets. It is expected that the ratio of banks’ non-performing loans (NPLs) will raise significantly once Member States fully unwind the support measures introduced to contain the impact of...

It has become widely acknowledged that the looming climate crisis and the necessary transition to a low-carbon economy can and will be financially material for financial institutions. Accordingly, microprudential supervisors have started including climate-related financial risks in their daily...