It helps to reduce, or even eliminate operational risks, lower trading costs, improve trading efficiency, and foster the development of a single national draft market. It will encourage the development of commercial acceptance drafts. With the introduction of electronic drafts, short-term interest rates will better reflect the supply and demand in the market.
First of all: Since last year banks have already frontloaded a lot of decisions in anticipation of the Comprehensive Assessment. They have raised new capital and increased provisions. All in all since June 2013 the 128 banks that will be under ECB supervision in the future have strengthened their balance sheets by € billion.