Using a unique dataset of the Euro area and the U.S. bank lending standards, we find that low (monetary policy) short-term interest rates soften standards, for household and corporate loans. This softening – especially for mortgages – is amplified by securitization activity, weak supervision...

Crisis management in the financial sector is currently at the top of the reform agenda at national, European and international level. Well-designed bank resolution regimes are essential not only to meet the acute need of a credit institution in crisis but also to ensure that proper incentive...

Cross-border banking is currently not stable in Europe. Cross-border banks need a European safety net. Moreover, a truly integrated European-level banking system may help to break the diabolical loop between the solvency of the domestic banking system and the fiscal standing of the national...

The Single Supervisory Mechanism (SSM) is considered by many to be fundamental for the creation of the European Union banking union. The very idea behind the banking union is not only to strengthen the confidence in the banks of the Member States that are using the euro as their national...

Since the European Council of June 2012, ‘Banking Union' is a key item for the EU's policy agenda. This contribution outlines the state of the policy debate – identifying the elements that are missing but important from a theoretical viewpoint. We make concrete proposals as to how the...

This chapter looks at political and legal accountability in the European Banking Union. It is structured as follows. The discussion begins with a sketch of the constitutional structure and administrative machinery in the area of Banking Union. The focus then shifts to the concept of...

(1) The fifth edition of the present study contains a further update in full of the institutional and regulatory framework governing the Single Resolution Mechanism (SRM) and the Single Resolution Fund (SRF). Its structure has also been revised, since the Sections of previous editions have been...