In some cases, Member State authorities had the power to transfer assets to a third party purchaser by executive order, in others by judicial proceedings, for example.xxiii These differences, coupled with the lack of a harmonised approach to burden-sharing and a weak framework for cooperation (in the form of voluntary cross-border colleges/stability groups) made effective, rapid, coordinated cross-border intervention very challenging.
In a monetary union, where subsidiaries were the main form of cross-border banking holding almost EUR 4 trillion of assets by 2006, the lack of incentives to cooperate and coordinate 11  compounded the lack of trust across the system.xxiv The well documented collapse in the inter-bank market led to the need for central banks to aggressively step in to provide liquidity in order to prevent the collapse of the financial system.