Klaus Regling at Eurogroup videoconference, May 2022

Transcript of remarks by ESM Managing Director Klaus Regling
Press conference after Eurogroup videoconference on a draft work plan to complete banking union
3 May 2022

Today's meeting I think was an important step towards a work plan to complete the banking union. From the ESM, we fully support that goal to reach an agreement on the work plan next month and we agree with the guidance suggested by the President of the Eurogroup. To me it's very clear. I have talked about that many times. The benefits of banking union are huge. We all know that the European economy is largely financed by banks and that's one reason why we do need a well-functioning banking industry, particularly now.

Completing banking union will also improve the performance of the whole economy, raising the growth potential of the European economy. And importantly, more cross-border banking flows will also increase risk-sharing within the monetary union, which is important to avoid fragmentation. That would strengthen the resilience of the monetary union and also the international role of the euro. Since the financial crisis, we have come a long way towards full banking union. But as you heard and you are aware, we are not quite where we want to be.

We have already achieved some major improvements. Commissioner Gentiloni talked about that. We have a well-functioning European banking supervision framework and we do have a single resolution framework. Once the ESM Treaty reform is fully ratified, the ESM will contribute to further improvement by forming a backstop to the Single Resolution Fund. But there's more to be done. In my view, this is the time to make progress. The President's plan has all the elements to make that progress and I believe it is possible to move towards a situation where everyone will be better off. Thank you.