Our task is to make the SSM a truly European institution, combining the experience of 19 different national supervisory authorities and establishing a common standard that allows banks to be supervised without the influence of national interests. It is important in that regard that the SSM identifies risks in good time, reacts quickly, and acts both efficiently and effectively.
Has the SSM lived up to these expectations? I believe it has. As Vice-Chair of the Supervisory Board of the ECB, I am of course biased, so I would like to offer some evidence in support of this assertion. Last year saw the successful completion of our Supervisory Review and Evaluation Process (SREP), which was conducted on the basis of a uniform methodology.