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The Supervision Blog

Providing insights on supervising Europe’s biggest banks

The Supervision Blog is where ECB staff and Supervisory Board members offer insights into the workings of the banking sector, incorporating data, analysis and research.

3 June 2025

Hidden leverage and blind spots: addressing banks’ exposures to private market funds

Private capital markets are growing fast – and so are their links to banks. As complexity and leverage build up outside the regulatory perimeter, risk management of banks, transparency, and regulatory frameworks need to keep pace.

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18 March 2025

Managing liquidity in a changing environment

As the normalisation of the Eurosystem balance sheet progresses, the aggregate amount of central bank liquidity available to banks in the euro area will fall over the coming years. This blog explains the role played by the Eurosystem’s refinancing operations within the operational framework for monetary policy implementation. The ECB, both as a monetary policy authority and as a supervisor, expects that banks should consider these operations as an integral part of their day-to-day liquidity management.

English
11 March 2025

Reviewing the Pillar 2 requirement methodology

Maintaining adequate levels of capital allows banks to provide stable financial services to the real economy and absorb losses in difficult times. This is why European law sets minimum capital requirements that all banks must meet. But banks also face risks that are not covered by these Pillar 1 requirements. This blog post explains how the ECB addresses these risks through its Pillar 2 requirements, and how we are changing our approach to ensure that banks remain safe and sound in an evolving risk landscape.

English
20 January 2025

Why prudent projections are the backbone of sound stress testing

Stress tests are of crucial importance to assess banks’ resilience under adverse economic conditions. In previous stress tests, however, some banks submitted overly optimistic projections. Despite thorough quality assurance by supervisors, this behaviour makes it more likely that the risks some banks face are underestimated. To address this, we are now taking a closer look at insufficiently prudent projection submissions. In line with our supervisory focus on banks’ risk data aggregation and reporting capabilities, we are also looking more closely at poor data quality issues in stress tests.
English
17 January 2025

Operational resilience in the digital age

Digitalisation is leading to efficiency gains for banks and improved services for their customers, but it is also bringing threats to operational resilience in the financial sector into sharper focus. The EU has developed a new regulation to keep these digital threats in check, that applies as of today. This blog post discusses how the new regulation makes the financial sector more resilient and outlines the implications for banks and their supervisors.
English
14 January 2025

Navigating the risk landscape: supervisory priorities 2025-27

Our supervisory priorities for 2025-27 focus on strengthening banks’ ability to withstand macro-financial and geopolitical shocks, and on ensuring that banks remediate material and persistent shortcomings in a timely manner and address emerging challenges. In this blog post, we explain how these priorities will help European supervisors navigate the evolving risk landscape.

English
26 July 2024

Enhancing banks’ resilience against cyber threats – a key priority for the ECB

The importance of cyber resilience in protecting our banking sector cannot be overstated: the current landscape poses a variety of cyber threats, from cybercrime to sophisticated state-sponsored attacks. The results of our recent stress test will help us strengthen the way supervised banks manage cyber risk, to set the stage for a resilient banking future.
English
24 July 2024

Banks’ governance and risk culture a decade on: good and bad practices

Where do banks’ governance and risk culture stand after ten years of European supervision? Despite improvements, the ECB has concluded that there is still progress to be made. That’s why we are publishing a Guide on governance and risk culture outlining supervisory expectations and good practices.
English
11 July 2024

A key step in assessing SSM banks’ digitalisation journey and related risks

Assessing how banks implement their digitalisation activities and manage the related risks has been one of the ECB’s supervisory priorities in recent years. We have now completed a key milestone for defining assessment criteria and in gathering sound practices. The Supervision Blog looks at this important step.

English
28 May 2024

Reforming the SREP: an important milestone towards more efficient and effective supervision in a new risk environment

The Supervisory Board has decided to update its annual health check of banks, the Supervisory Review and Evaluation Process. Triggered by structural shifts, new risks and external shocks, the changes aim at making the SREP more efficient and effective.
English
8 May 2024

You have to know your risks to manage them – banks’ materiality assessments as a crucial precondition for managing climate and environmental risks

Materiality assessments are not just a “nice to have” – knowing your risks is a precondition for being able to address them. Most banks have now drawn up materiality assessments that are in line with our supervisory expectations. This is good news, but it is only the first step. A great deal more work lies ahead. By the end of this year, we expect all banks under our supervision to be fully aligned with all our supervisory expectations on the sound management of C&E risks.

English
25 April 2024

Updating the Magna Carta of supervision: review of the Core Principles for Effective Banking Supervision

Supervisors from around the world have revised the Core Principles for Effective Banking Supervision. Supervisory Board Vice-Chair Frank Elderson explains how this will make the global banking system safer and help supervision keep pace with our rapidly changing world.

English
15 March 2024

Risk data aggregation and risk reporting: ramping up supervisory effectiveness

This blog post explains how the ECB is ramping up its efforts to become an even more effective supervisor in risk data aggregation and risk reporting (RDARR), an area where many banks have failed to fully address their weaknesses to date.
English
23 January 2024

“Failing to plan is planning to fail’’ – why transition planning is essential for banks

The misalignment with the EU climate transition pathway can lead to material financial, legal and reputational risks for banks. It is therefore crucial for banks to identify, measure and − most importantly − manage transition risks, just as they do for any other material risk writes Frank Elderson, member of the Executive Board of the ECB and Vice-Chair of the Supervisory Board of the ECB.
English
16 January 2024

Priorities to help banks withstand headwinds

Our supervisory priorities for 2024-26 clearly reflect the new and persistent risks that banks are facing. In this blog post, Kerstin af Jochnick and Mario Quagliariello highlight our key priorities, plan of action and expectations for banks.
English
10 October 2023

Keeping a tight lid on non-performing loans

Ever since it began supervising banks, addressing the issue of non-performing loans (NPLs) has been a key priority for the ECB and remains so today. That is why we are very concerned about legislative proposals which could undermine the effective resolution of NPLs, Elizabeth McCaul and Korbinian Ibel write.
English
20 July 2023

Effective management bodies – the bedrock of well-run banks

Effective management bodies are the bedrock of well-run banks, and well-run banks are the bedrock of a stable banking system, writes Supervisory Board Vice-Chair Frank Elderson in The Supervision Blog. We will continue our efforts to strengthen banks’ management bodies.
English
8 June 2023

The economy and banks need nature to survive

Humanity needs nature to survive, and so do the economy and banks. The more species become extinct, the less diverse are the ecosystems on which we rely. This presents a growing financial risk that cannot be ignored, warns Frank Elderson, member of the Executive Board of the ECB and Vice-Chair of the Supervisory Board of the ECB.
English
26 May 2023

Overlays and in-model adjustments: identifying best practices for capturing novel risks

How can banks best quantify new, unknown risks like supply chain risks and judge how much capital to set aside for them? Supervisory Board member Elizabeth McCaul and head of horizontal supervision Stefan Walter discuss this in a blog post on IFRS 9 provisioning frameworks.
English
9 May 2023

Diversity at the top makes banks better

Diversity is a matter of sound governance for banks and leads to better decision-making. That is why Frank Elderson, Member of the Executive Board of the ECB and Vice-Chair of the Supervisory Board of the ECB, and Elizabeth McCaul, Member of the Supervisory Board of the ECB, are encouraging banks to improve the diversity of their boards.
English
5 April 2023

Mind the gap: we need better oversight of crypto activities

Crypto assets can pose a serious risk to financial stability. That is why we need to identify and close gaps in the global supervision of crypto markets. We need better international coordination and stronger consolidated oversight, argues Supervisory Board member Elizabeth McCaul.
English
10 March 2023

Supervising the future of banking: navigating the digital transformation

Blog post by Elizabeth McCaul, Member of the Supervisory Board of the ECB
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28 February 2023

Preventing money laundering through European banks

Enough staff, the right data, effective cooperation. That’s what a European Anti-Money Laundering Authority (AMLA) would need from EU lawmakers to be able to protect citizens, writes Supervisory Board member Édouard Fernandez-Bollo in the Supervision Blog.
English
13 January 2023

Tackling counterparty credit risk

Banks should be well prepared and maintain their counterparty credit risk at an acceptable level, writes Supervisory Board Chair Andrea Enria in the Supervision Blog. We will use all available supervisory tools to ensure they address weaknesses in their risk management promptly.
English
20 December 2022

Are banks ready to weather rising interest rates?

The ECB has gauged bank resilience to interest rate shocks under different macroeconomic scenarios. ECB Vice-President Luis de Guindos and Chair of the ECB’s Supervisory Board Andrea Enria walk us through the findings.
English
12 December 2022

Charting the course: our supervisory priorities

High uncertainty calls for extreme prudence by banks and supervisors, say Kerstin af Jochnick and Mario Quagliariello on The Supervision Blog. Banks should remain resilient to immediate shocks, without losing sight of structural challenges such as cyber and climate-related risks.
English
4 November 2022

Strong rules, strong banks: let’s stick to our commitments

We need strong rules for strong banks. Deviations from Basel III in planned EU laws could harm banks’ reputation and competitiveness, warn ECB Supervisory Board Chair Andrea Enria, ECB Vice-President Luis de Guindos and EBA Chairperson José Manuel Campa in a joint blog post.
English
2 November 2022

Banks need to be climate change proof

Banks must adapt the way they do business to account for climate-related and environmental risks, writes Supervisory Board Vice-Chair Frank Elderson in The Supervision Blog. The blog post takes a look at banks’ progress and the road ahead.
English
8 July 2022

A catalyst for greening the financial system

The ECB is reducing the carbon footprint in its portfolio and pushing banks to better manage climate risks. Within our mandate, we incorporate climate change considerations into our monetary policy and banking supervision, say Frank Elderson and Isabel Schnabel.
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24 May 2022

Enhancing cooperation in the fight against money laundering

Anti-money laundering authorities and banking supervisors need to work closely with one another, say Supervisory Board members Elizabeth McCaul and Edouard Fernandez-Bollo. The new European anti-money laundering authority will play a key role in this effort.
English
19 May 2022

The desks mapping review – integrating Brexit banks into European banking supervision

Banks that relocated business from the UK to the EU after Brexit must have adequate local governance and risk management capabilities, says Supervisory Board Chair Andrea Enria. Our review indicates incoming banks do not yet have full control over their balance sheets.
English
28 April 2022

Mind the gap, close the gap – the ECB’s views on the banking package reforms

The revised European banking package represents very good progress, says Supervisory Board Vice-Chair Frank Elderson. However, banks may be left exposed to risks if remaining gaps are not closed.
English
21 February 2022

For a fully fledged European anti-money laundering authority

We welcome the creation of a European anti-money laundering authority, says Supervisory Board member Edouard Fernandez-Bollo. In this blog post, he shares his thoughts on how to best make it work, based on our own experience in building European Banking Supervision.
English
7 December 2021

Our supervisory priorities for a healthier banking sector after the pandemic

Credit risk remains high on our agenda, say Supervisory Board Chair Andrea Enria and Director of Supervisory Strategy and Risk Mario Quagliariello. We must tackle emerging risks, including those stemming from accelerating digitalisation and the climate and environmental crisis.
English
30 November 2021

Provisioning for a clean balance sheet

We are implementing a new bank-specific approach to ensure banks sufficiently provision for non-performing loans granted before April 2019, says Supervisory Board member Elizabeth McCaul. We will impose a capital add-on where necessary that can be lowered swiftly if banks act.
English
22 November 2021

How well are European banks managing their climate-related and environmental risks?

Climate-related and environmental risks are and will remain key risk drivers for banks, says Supervisory Board Vice-Chair Frank Elderson. Banks must integrate them into their strategies, governance and risk management arrangements.
English
19 July 2021

Credit risk: Acting now paves the way for sound resilience later

This crisis provides an opportunity to improve credit risk management in banks, says Supervisory Board member Elizabeth McCaul. Strong credit risk controls help banks support the economic recovery, so the good practices we are seeing should be adopted more widely.
English
15 June 2021

ECB Banking Supervision seeking greater diversity within banks

Diversity in leadership is crucial for effective governance, say Vice-Chair Frank Elderson and Supervisory Board member Elizabeth McCaul. A richer set of knowledge, experiences and values results in better decision-making and greater efficiency in the way banks operate.
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14 May 2021

Fostering a compliance culture in the European banking system

Our sanctioning powers help to ensure that banks comply with regulatory requirements, say Supervisory Board member Edouard Fernandez-Bollo and Director General Pedro Gustavo Teixeira. This in turn creates confidence in the soundness of the banking system.
English
4 December 2020

Who pays the piper calls the tune: The need for and benefit of strong credit risk management

Strong credit risk management to avoid bad loans piling up now will maximise value, avoid cliff effects and reduce the risk of procyclical effects, writes Supervisory Board member Elizabeth McCaul. Inaction would disrupt the supply of credit and liquidity and delay the recovery.
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9 October 2020

Fostering the cross-border integration of banking groups in the banking union

We need to foster the integration of cross-border banking groups to ensure that timely liquidity support is provided within them, Andrea Enria and Edouard Fernandez-Bollo say in our latest blog post. To achieve this, recovery plans could be strengthened by using group support agreements.
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28 July 2020

The coronavirus crisis and ECB Banking Supervision: taking stock and looking ahead

Euro area banks are resilient to the stress caused by the coronavirus crisis, our analysis shows. The assessment of the results justifies our decision to extend our dividend recommendation. Supervisory Board Chair Andrea Enria also clarifies the timeline for banks to replenish capital and liquidity buffers.
English
9 July 2020

Brexit: banks must prepare for the end of the transition period

The ECB will continue to engage with all banks affected by Brexit to ensure that they achieve their target operating models in a timely manner, says Supervisory Board Vice-Chair Yves Mersch. We will not accept banks attempting to operate as empty shells.
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7 July 2020

Supervising the new normal

How do we ensure that supervision remains effective during the crisis, and which aspects will be crucial in determining the shape of the EU banking sector in the medium term? These are the key questions supervisors must now answer, writes Supervisory Board member Kerstin af Jochnick.
English
1 July 2020

Clarifying the ECB’s supervisory approach to consolidation

As the ECB publishes its draft Guide on consolidation in the banking sector, Supervisory Board member Edouard Fernandez-Bollo explains in his blog post the key aspects of how the ECB assesses consolidation projects involving euro area banks.
English
12 May 2020

A pragmatic SREP delivers appropriate supervision for the crisis

The 2020 supervisory review takes a pragmatic approach while aiming to maintain an accurate view of banks’ soundness, writes Supervisory Board member Elizabeth McCaul. We focus on how banks manage risks to capital and liquidity, and intend to keep Pillar 2 requirements and guidance stable.
English
8 May 2020

The first lesson from the pandemic: state-of-the-art technology is vital

The coronavirus pandemic has highlighted how important technology is for banks’ business continuity, writes Supervisory Board member Pentti Hakkarainen. This offers opportunities but also challenges, as reliance on technology can lead to an increase in IT and cyber risks.
English
27 March 2020

Flexibility in supervision: how ECB Banking Supervision is contributing to fighting the economic fallout from the coronavirus

Banks and their shareholders must also do their part to fight the economic effects of the coronavirus pandemic, Supervisory Board Chair Andrea Enria writes in the Supervision Blog. He explains the rationale behind the recent supervisory measures and recommended dividend restrictions.
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