Given the current European financial landscape, the decentralised structure of banking supervision in Europe can be defended. However, in the years to come the question of whether the adequacy of this framework is undermined by developments in the financial sector will have to be closely monitored and analysed.
It is reassuring that the Treaty on European Union contains a provision which enables the Council of Ministers to further enhance the role of the ECB in the field of banking supervision. In the relatively near future the introduction of the euro banknotes and coins will be on the agenda.