This requires that financial services firms:  have sufficient financial resources, including under a plausible but severe stress;  have profitable business models over the long-term;  are well governed, have effective cultures, with effective risk management and control arrangements; and  can recover if they get into difficulty, and if they cannot, are resolvable in an orderly manner without significant externalities or taxpayer costs.
Given that inappropriate consolidation strategies and shortcomings in their implementation have, in the past, made compliance with the Stability and Growth Pact difficult, it is now essential that consolidation  plans are ambitious and are fully implemented.