The ECB directly supervises the 118 significant banks of the participating Member States. These banks hold almost 82% of banking assets in the euro area. This includes Bank of Ireland, Allied Irish Banks, Permanent TSB and Ulster Bank Ireland DAC. Ongoing supervision of the significant banks is carried out by Joint Supervisory Teams (JSTs).
The current account balances of sub-Saharan African (SSA) economies have worsened markedly since the onset of the global crisis, from an average surplus of 0.7 percent of GDP during 2004–08 to a projected average deficit of 3.3 percent of GDP during 2012–13.1 The deterioration of the current account affects both oil exporters and oil importers alike.