By publishing a Financial Stability Review, the ECB pursues three objectives: first, promoting awareness of issues relevant to safeguarding the stability of the euro area financial system and encouraging an informed debate on these; second, providing an overview of sources of risk and vulnerabilities with regard to financial stability; in this way, the review seeks to play a role in preventing crises; and, third, analysing ways of promoting and maintaining a stable financial system.
The scope of the Review is wide, covering the euro area financial system, notably banks, other financial institutions (e.g. insurance companies), capital and money markets and financial infrastructure (payment and settlement systems). As such, it is the only Report of this kind for the euro area.