海外之声 | 欧洲银行业货币政策监管与发展

导读

过去十年对全球金融市场，特别是对银行业这一传统金融支柱来说，无疑是充满挑战和变革的时期。全球银行业均从2008年全球金融危机中汲取教训，致力于降低自身系统性风险，并保障整个金融系统的稳定性。在这一过程中，欧洲中央银行（ECB）起到了核心作用。通过增强银行资本充足率、改进流动性管理以及加强风险管理等措施，欧洲央行有效提升了整个银行业的韧性和稳定性，将银行业的平均一级资本比率（CET1）从2014年的约11%显著提高到2020年的超过15%，显著增强了银行抵御金融冲击的能力。

但是如今，在全球化深入发展的大背景下，欧洲银行业面临跨国业务管理的新挑战。为了有效处理这些跨境业务，欧洲国家之间的监管机构需要紧密合作，同时也需要与非欧洲国家的监管机构进行协调。在这个方面，银行联盟的成立是欧洲的重要进步，为监管机构提供了管理跨国银行业务的必要工具和权力。尽管取得了显著的进步，欧洲银行监管仍面临诸多未来挑战。这些挑战包括宏观经济和地缘政治风险的加剧、数字化转型带来的新型风险、以及气候变化和环境风险的出现。近期利率和能源价格的上涨以及经济增长预期的下调，进一步加剧了这些挑战。在应对这些不确定性的过程中，银行需要有战略性的指导，以全面评估、控制和管理这些风险。因此，未来的监管工作不仅需要继续加强现有的监管框架，还要灵活应对新兴风险，并促进银行业的可持续发展。

银行业的资本和流动性在应对这些挑战中显示出其重要性。充足的资本是处理突发事件的关键，它能在经济压力期间吸收不利影响，并使银行能够继续放贷。风险管理的不善往往会在不利的宏观经济冲击下暴露银行的脆弱性。因此，微观和宏观审慎监管之间的紧密合作至关重要，以确保整个金融系统的稳定。虽然强有力的微观审慎监管是金融稳定的基础，但监管者也需要采取有力的宏观审慎行动，以及时全面应对系统性风险。

为了更好地适应这些挑战，欧洲银行监管机构需要进一步加强跨国合作，利用新技术，并提高对环境风险的认识和应对能力。通过这些努力，银行业将能够在不断变化的全球金融环境中保持其稳定性和韧性。

作者丨克劳迪娅·布赫教授（欧洲中央银行监事会主席）

European banking supervision a decade on: safeguarding banks’ resilience amid global challenges

Speech by Claudia Buch, Chair of the Supervisory Board of the ECB, House of the Euro, Brussels

Brussels, 12 February 2024

It is a great honour to speak to you today. The new year is well underway, but let me still wish you all the best for 2024.

Many Europeans look into the new year with concerns about the future. Immigration, the Russian war against Ukraine, geopolitics, inflation and climate change are mentioned as key concerns in recent Eurobarometer surveys.

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We indeed live in a period of high uncertainty, characterised by “shifts and breaks”, as President Lagarde said last year. Our economies and societies have been hit by several shocks in the past few years. There is high uncertainty surrounding the conjunctural outlook and, more fundamentally, the structural changes that lie ahead. Geopolitical risks, climate change, demographic trends and digitalisation are forcing us to adjust the way we produce and consume.

This uncertainty affects banks. In the short-term, higher interest rates have boosted their profitability. European banks have weathered recent storms thanks both to their own resilience and to the significant fiscal and monetary support that mitigated the impact of the recent shocks. However, in the longer term, banks will not be immune to risks and unexpected events. The currently good level of profitability provides an opportunity to build buffers to cushion shocks.

At the same time, a stable banking system is crucial for managing risks and promoting welfare.

Ensuring that the banks remain resilient is thus the central objective of European banking supervision. Resilience means that banks can absorb shocks – that they may bend under stress, but that they won’t fall.

The banking union gives us the relevant tools and powers. It is one of Europe’s major achievements. It was, ten years ago, the right response to the global financial crisis and the European sovereign debt crisis. With the Single Supervisory Mechanism (SSM) and the Single Resolution Board, we have strong frameworks and institutions to safeguard the stability of banks and to deal with stress events.

The stability of the EU framework is indeed appreciated by its citizens, despite the anti-EU rhetoric that we often hear. Surveys show that most look to the EU as a source of stability and are optimistic about the future of Europe.

The achievements of the SSM during its first ten years are a strong foundation for our future work. We closely cooperate within the system, we apply the same standards across all supervised banks, and risks have been reduced. This would not have been possible without the trust that has been forged between supervisors across Europe.But we should not stop here. Complacency is not an option. I see three main areas of focus for European banking supervision.

First, we need to adapt our supervision to the new environment. Heightened macroeconomic and geopolitical risks coupled with changes in the competitive environment leave banks exposed to new risks. This requires close attention, and it is one of our supervisory priorities.

Second, we need to enhance supervisory effectiveness. This means focusing attention on relevant risks and following up on supervisory findings.

Third, we need to continuously and transparently connect with our stakeholders. This is at the centre of activities to mark the SSM’s tenth anniversary. We are planning several initiatives to bring us closer to the EU citizens we serve and to engage with policymakers. It is no coincidence that I am giving my first speech here in Brussels, the heart of Europe and the home of the European legislator.

The first decade of European banking supervision – increasing resilience and building trust