Going forward, further harmonisation of the regulatory and supervisory framework of third-country branches in the Union would be of the essence. Second, we need to adapt how large investment firms are supervised to reflect the many similarities between their activities and those of banks.
All of the considerable steps taken by central banks and governments – and thus by taxpayers – have had one single objective: to allow banks to continue to perform their function, which is to finance the real economy. The banks have to live up to their responsibilities. Paradoxically, haven’t some banks, such as BNP Paribas, become too big as a result of this crisis?