As noted in the minutes of several past FOMC meetings, that uncertainty seems to be attributable to a confluence of several factors. The high-profile cases of corporate accounting scandals in the United States over recent months undoubtedly are an important part of the story.
We also saw increases in the correlation between the cost of funding of euro area banks and that of their respective sovereigns, particularly in some countries under stress. Against this background, the need to weaken the spillover chain between banks and sovereigns by taking responsibility for the stability of the banking system at the European level with a single supervisory mechanism becomes evident.