Statement by the President of the Eurogroup on the results of the ECB’s comprehensive assessment
I welcome the publication of on the results of the ECB’s comprehensive assessment. It is an important milestone in setting up the European banking union. This assessment and the recapitalization process thereafter will further reinforce confidence in European banks and support the recovery. A successful recovery of the eurozone is only possible with restoring confidence in Europe’s financial sector.
The comprehensive assessment identified the vulnerabilities in the banking sector and shows that work still needs to be done. The outcome also showed that in the build-up to the assessment, many banks took responsibility and started reinforcing their balance sheets.This transparency provides for the necessary clarity at the start of the banking union. With the gathered information, identified problems can be corrected. A clear path and time line for remedial action has been outlined for this.
I want to thank the ECB and everyone involved in this process for their hard work. Completing the banking union is a key priority. We are cleaning up banks’ balance sheets and we are strengthening banks to enable them to supply credit to our companies to realize new growth.