Remarks by Commissioner McGuinness during European Parliament plenary debate on the Banking Union Annual Report

Vielen Dank, Madam President, and good evening.

This is rather a special debate. My thanks to the select few who have contributed two excellent contributions. It is about quality, not volume.

But can I just say thank you to rapporteur Peter Hansen in particular, for your comment about nature restoration and the banking debate.

In fact, we need Banking Union and Capital Markets Union in order to provide the investment needed for nature restoration and the climate challenge.

So while there aren't many here, I think it is important for us to state very clearly that the work you've done on this report, which is excellent, with the shadows, is very important – and not to the financial system alone; this is about the economy and society.

And we need to say that very loud and very clear.

Indeed what I'd love is during the European election campaigns of 2024, that people would ask us about Banking Union and Capital Markets Union.

I live in hope, and I think, madam rapporteur, your words should encourage people to do that.

So you know the Commission's position on Banking Union, we know that we need to develop and strengthen and it is a work in progress.

The good news on one part is that the Council and Parliament recently agreed the final implementation of the Basel international banking standards in the EU.

And this is really welcome. It is a major contribution to the single rulebook.

After 15 years we are turning the page on the post-financial crisis reforms, and we can look to the future.

But we still have this unfinished business with Banking Union, and that's why this debate is important.

You rightly say, madam rapporteur, that we recently adopted the proposal for crisis management and deposit insurance back in April.

It is an important reform and will help to address some of the challenges with how the rules are working in practice.

It builds on the experience we gathered on the ground since 2014 and addresses many of the observations you make in your report.

The review offered a good opportunity to look at what worked well and indeed what didn't work so well.

And the goal of the reform is to ensure a more consistent approach to managing bank failures in the European Union, because we want to make sure that any bank can exit the market smoothly, regardless of its size or business model or location.

This reform will strengthen financial stability, protect taxpayers and improve the confidence of depositors across the European Union.

But most importantly, this reform is also intended to build new momentum, to relaunch discussions on completing the Banking Union.

And as you rightly point out in your report, the CMDI review is not, and should not be, a substitute for completing the Banking Union.

The big missing element remains a European deposit insurance scheme.

EU citizens should be able to open a bank account wherever they are in the EU with the same level of protection.

If we want every euro deposited anywhere in the Banking Union to have the same value, then we need to give it the same level of protection through a common deposit insurance scheme.

A common European safety net will deliver more resilience to the system more efficiently, and it will make national schemes less vulnerable to large, local or systemic shocks.

And this will pave the way for deeper market integration – and that's critical for growth and resilience – as well as allowing the banking sector to better compete internationally.

There are different design options for EDIS, and we acknowledge them in our communication alongside the crisis management proposals.

We must continue working to finalise a more resilient and integrated Banking Union.

I am confident that the CMDI proposal will pave the path for EDIS and that it will help us make a fully-fledged Banking Union a reality.

But I really cannot say this strongly enough: we need the Banking Union.

It will help the EU banking sector not only to weather geopolitical and financial turmoil, but also to boost its profitability and competitiveness.

And again, it will help finance the green and digital transitions.

It will make sure that our safety nets are effective and that enough funding is available to handle failing banks across the Banking Union in times of crisis.

Last but not least, it will benefit European citizens because depositor confidence is a public good and we are responsible for protecting it.

So I encourage the European Parliament to remain ambitious on these files and I look forward to continuing to work with you on completing the Banking Union.

Thank you.