Sabine Lautenschläger: Interview in Le Monde Interview with Ms Sabine Lautenschläger, Member of the Executive Board of the European Central Bank, in Le Monde, conducted by Ms Marie Charrel on 3 November 2014. *  *  *  On 4 November, the European Central Bank (ECB) assumes responsibility for the supervision of the 120 largest banks in the euro area, which account for 82% of European bank assets. Sabine Lautenschläger, member of the Executive Board of the ECB and ViceChair of the new Single Supervisory Mechanism (SSM), answers some questions. The SSM starts operations on 4 November. What is the mission of this new institution? Our task is to be an intrusive and independent European supervisor which contributes to the safety and soundness of the banking system and the stability of the financial system. Our aim is to identify inappropriate risks as well as procedures within credit institutions well in advance and to act in an efficient and timely manner to mitigate them. With the start of the SSM, there will be one supervisory approach in the 18 countries of the euro area – thus, for the first time, creating a supervisory level playing field for banks in the euro area. In our dayto-day business, we will ensure that banks are sufficiently capitalised, that they have sufficient liquidity, and that they have established a governance structure as well as risk control procedures that are appropriate for their activities. The ECB has just published the results of the banking stress tests.
As supervisors we do not think in terms of countries, but of banks’ business and risk profiles. Each bank operates differently and therefore has to face different problems; it would be unwise not to see them individually. BIS central bankers’ speeches  3