BIS central bankers’ speeches  5  The Comprehensive Assessment will allow the banking union to start with a clean slate. At the same time, it will support the necessary deleveraging of European banks. Balance sheets will eventually be “cleaned up” and any doubts regarding their quality will be removed.
This will improve banks’ capacity to lend to the real economy and thus support economic growth. Against this backdrop, it is crucial that the Comprehensive Assessment is conducted in a tough and thorough manner. 4. Conclusion  Ladies and gentlemen With regard to the sovereign debt crisis it seems that Soeren Kierkegaard’s advice did not fall on deaf ears.