Considering all the legal and technical complexities of such a move in a cross-border context, the only efficient way to do this is to have a single authority taking the lead and relying on national resolution authorities as its agents. Certainly, a lot needs to be done to set up an integrated European resolution regime like this.
But it is not something for the distant future. Recent events have underscored the need to be more ambitious – now. During the recent financial and sovereign crisis in Europe, we have seen the pernicious interaction between weaknesses in the financial sector and fiscal imbalances. Many policy initiatives have been put in place to restore confidence in European banks, despite concerns over their sovereigns.