This proposal for structural regulation follows, at least partly, the recommendations of the EU expert group which I chaired and which submitted its report about a year and a half ago. The Commission’s legislative proposal would also include an outright prohibition of proprietary trading, resembling the U.S. Volcker rule.
*  *  *  The institutional developments which I have reviewed were not mainly directed towards managing the recent crisis, which fortunately seems to be gradually abating in Europe. They are meant to prevent future crises, to avoid the repetition of the painful experiences of the last five years. But the reforms have served a purpose also in the present situation.