And before the ECB takes over the task as the single supervisor, I would strongly advise to conduct a thorough and credible asset quality review of those banks which will be supervised by the ECB. It will be key for a successful start in the new supervisory structure to have a very clear picture of the risks and vulnerabilities in the European banking industry.
The prolonged global crisis and the vulnerabilities created or exposed by policy efforts globally to address the crisis have to some extent increased the risk of financial contagion. In that context, reducing vulnerabilities must be a key priority for both monetary and fiscal authorities. We have been lucky in South Africa because our fiscal and monetary authorities responded in sync.