Video: Wednesday, 20 January 2016
To improve financial stability the EU now supervises the largest banks. It has also created more possibilities to save banks from falling over and disrupting the entire Eurozone. Still, our Banking Union is missing one thing to make it really integrated and stable, Dirk Schoenmaker argues. He is the new professor of Banking and Finance at Rotterdam School of management, Erasmus University (RSM). In this opinion piece Schoenmaker explains why we need to go ahead with the proposals for a European Deposit Insurance. This would guarantee that our savings would be safe in times of banking trouble, no matter where in Europe that bank would be.
“Banks came in big problems during the financial crisis. The challenge is to create a stable banking system for Europe. Businesses need a loan from a bank to do new investments. Consumers need a mortgage to buy a house. Good provision of provision of credit is very important for the economy.”
Consumers are happy to move their savings to other European banks, if they can trust them and the deposit insurance behind it.
“I worked at the Ministry of Finance and at the Central Bank in England. During this period I have learned two things. It is important to prevent banking problems emerging. If they happen anyway, then you need to organise cooperation between authorities in advance, because during a crisis authorities take a national, narrow view when they deal with cross-border banks.”
“In my research I use models from the literature of game theory to study cooperation between parties. These models show very clearly that you need to organise cooperation in advance and you need to have a binding agreement.”
“Now we have a banking union. Banking supervision of cross-border banks is done by the European Central Bank, which takes an overall view and this creates a stable banking system. The last missing piece is a European Deposit Insurance. Consumers are happy to move their savings to other European banks, if they can trust them and the deposit insurance behind it. So European Deposit Insurance would complete the Banking Union.”
Firmer foundations for a stronger Banking Union, Bruegel (2015).
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Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University (RSM) is one of Europe’s top-ranked business schools. RSM provides ground-breaking research and education furthering excellence in all aspects of management and is based in the international port city of Rotterdam – a vital nexus of business, logistics and trade. RSM’s primary focus is on developing business leaders with international careers who can become a force for positive change by carrying their innovative mindset into a sustainable future. Our first-class range of bachelor, master, MBA, PhD and executive programmes encourage them to become to become critical, creative, caring and collaborative thinkers and doers.
