Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 19 December 2012
92. Deputy Arthur Spring asked the Minister for Finance in the context of the Eurozone banking deal, which assigns regulatory powers to the European Central Bank for banks with assets greater exceeding €30 billion or one fifth of their home country's GDP, his views on the way this will affect the banking system here, specifically, if the pillar banks will come under ECB supervision. [57187/12]
View answerUnder the agreement on a Single Supervisory Mechanism (SSM) recently reached by Ecofin Ministers the ECB will be the direct supervisor of the most significant credit institutions including those with assets of more than €30bn or with an asset-to-GDP ratio of 20%. To ensure the ECB is truly a European level supervisor it will involve banks in all participating Member States covering at least the three most significant banks in each participating Member State. By July 2013 the ECB in consultation with national competent authorities will publish a framework setting out the practical implications for the implementation of the regulation including the methodology for the assessment of the criteria mentioned above.
My Department is currently examining in conjunction with the Central Bank of Ireland the implications of the SSM agreement for Irish credit institutions. However, preliminary analysis would indicate that the two pillar banks, AIB and Bank of Ireland, meet the criteria for direct ECB supervision.
