It is critical to move forward expeditiously with Basel II implementation so that our largest and internationally active banking organizations maintain their safety and soundness and remain competitive, our supervisors bolster their assessment capabilities, and the market gains greater access to information about risk.
In my introductory remarks today, however, I would like to take a step back from that debate and instead reflect more broadly on why a banking union is important for any monetary union to function well and why it is natural to locate the SSM with, or at least “close to”, the central bank in such a union.