In a speech on crisis management reform, the Single Resolution Board said the post-2008 resolution framework has proved it can handle bank failures without taxpayer support, but argued that Europe’s crisis architecture remains incomplete. It pointed to the Single Resolution Mechanism’s handling of Banco Popular Español in 2017 and Sberbank Europe in 2022 as evidence that resolution now works in practice, while warning that the Banking Union still lacks two core elements needed to preserve confidence in a crisis: a common public liquidity backstop and a European deposit insurance scheme. The speech said those earlier reforms were backed by substantial implementation work, including more than EUR 2.6 trillion in loss-absorbing capacity built by banks, EUR 81 billion in the Single Resolution Fund and 150 resolution plans updated each year. Against that, recent reforms were described as more incremental. The Crisis Management and Deposit Insurance reform was welcomed because it adds a deposit guarantee scheme bridge for smaller and mid-sized banks and applies across Europe, including Sweden, but it was presented as insufficient to complete the Banking Union. The SRB also highlighted that the 2019 Eurogroup agreement for a common backstop to the Single Resolution Fund through the European Stability Mechanism remains pending ratification by one member state, and said that backstop would add EUR 68 billion to the fund. Looking ahead, the speech said the framework must be updated for risks it was not designed to address, especially cyber incidents that could undermine a bank’s operational continuity even where capital and liquidity remain adequate. It also called for a broader debate on crisis management rules for systemic non-bank financial intermediaries, arguing that risk has migrated outside banks and that the Financial Stability Board’s strategic review of crisis preparedness is a chance to take a more system-wide approach.
Single Resolution Board2026-06-16
Single Resolution Board calls for a common backstop and deposit insurance to complete the Banking Union crisis framework
In a speech, the Single Resolution Board said post-crisis bank resolution reforms have worked, citing Banco Popular and Sberbank Europe as cases handled without taxpayer losses. It argued, however, that the Banking Union remains incomplete without a common liquidity backstop and European deposit insurance, despite recent CMDI improvements. The speech also called for adapting crisis tools to cyber risk and considering resolution frameworks for systemic non-bank financial intermediaries.