In closing remarks at a Berlin conference on digitalisation and the financial safety net, Single Resolution Board (SRB) Chair Dominique Laboureix called for crisis preparedness to address critical services beyond banking and operational failures alongside traditional financial shocks. The emphasis on maintaining critical functions under stress aligns with the SRB’s existing shift from resolution planning toward practical testing and operational readiness under the Single Resolution Mechanism Vision 2028 strategy. Stablecoins, tokenized deposits and new intermediaries require authorities to examine the underlying claims, responsible providers and available protection rather than rely on familiar product labels. Dependence on shared technology providers creates channels through which outages or cyberattacks can disrupt several institutions simultaneously. Preparedness must therefore extend beyond prevention to maintaining or restoring critical services when safeguards fail. Compromised bank data can also complicate liquidity assessments and decisions on whether a bank is failing or likely to fail, requiring authorities to prepare for action under uncertainty. Implementation of existing resolution standards remains a priority. A Financial Stability Board assessment cited in the speech found only four of 19 jurisdictions fully compliant overall with Key Attribute 6 on funding in resolution, with the Banking Union outside that group. Liquidity backstops need sufficient scale and speed, clear responsibilities, safeguards and arrangements for recovering losses. Laboureix also discussed recent European Commission work raising the possibility of the Single Resolution Fund providing deposit insurance for the largest banks and liquidity support to national deposit guarantee schemes. Any closer integration would require clear responsibilities and funding relationships. Cooperation across prevention, early intervention, recovery and resolution, including information sharing across borders, was another priority.
EU Single Resolution Board chair urges broader crisis preparedness and stronger resolution liquidity backstops
Single Resolution Board Chair Dominique Laboureix urged authorities at a Berlin conference to prepare for disruptions to critical services beyond banking, including failures at shared technology providers. Building on the SRB’s shift toward operational readiness, he stressed restoring services and making crisis decisions when reliable bank data is unavailable. He also highlighted gaps in resolution funding standards and called for liquidity backstops with sufficient scale and speed, alongside closer coordination among financial safety net authorities.