The SRM has given the market to understand that the public interest test – set by European legislation to decide whether to proceed with the resolution or consign the failing bank to the national authorities for liquidation – can only be passed in the case of big banks, whose systemic relevance is beyond doubt.
Experience shows that successful programmes – with “success” being measured by the policies which have been  2  “An Economist Reflects: A View from 2020: The Eurozone Break-up of 2013” Morgan Stanley Research Europe, 30 July 2010. 3  Cottarelli, Forni, Gottschalk and Mauro, “Default in Today’s Advanced Economies: Unnecessary, Undesirable, and Unlikely”, IMF Staff Position Note 10/12, 1 September 2010.