European banking union

The sovereign crisis that has characterised the eurozone since 2010 has highlighted the potentially vicious circle between banks and sovereigns, adding an extra dimension to the 2007/08 financial crisis. This is why the EU heads of state and government committed to a European banking union in June 2012; a vision that was further developed in the European Commission’s blueprint. The aim of the banking union is to ensure that the financial institutions of the – for now – 19 member states will be subject to a single supervision, a single resolution and a common deposit insurance system. This article explains the background to these initiatives and weighs the progress towards their completion.