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.
Hence, I very much welcome that some national authorities – in close collaboration with the ECB – currently assess the extent to which there is merit in implementing additional macroprudential measures. The macroprudential policy response should consider the current near-term headwinds to economic growth since policy tightening should not result in an unintended tightening of credit conditions.