Claudia Buch, Chair of the Supervisory Board of the ECB and banking supervision expert, discusses bank safety and resilience. She highlights risks from geopolitical tensions, digitalisation and climate change. She explains how supervision is evolving to be more efficient and risk-focused. She also covers complexity in supervision and links between resilience and bank competitiveness.
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insights INSIGHT
Banks Appear Financially Resilient
Euro area banks are currently well capitalized, liquid, and have low non-performing loan ratios.
Claudia Buch says this combination means savers' deposits are relatively safe today.
insights INSIGHT
Dual Focus: Financial And Operational Resilience
Supervisors focus on two priorities: financial resilience and operational resilience.
Claudia Buch highlights capital/liquidity strength and protection against cyber and operational risks as coequal concerns.
volunteer_activism ADVICE
Apply Risk-Based Supervision Practices
Streamline supervisory procedures to free resources for high-risk cases and speed decisions.
Claudia Buch says supervisors should apply risk-based approaches to authorizations, payouts and buybacks.
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How safe are our banks in the euro area?
The world around us is changing – geopolitical tensions , AI and climate change can all pose risks to banks.
So how can banks best manage their risks? What are supervisors focusing on in the coming year? And what measures are they taking to make supervision less complex?
Our host Stefania Secola speaks to Supervisory Board Chair Claudia Buch to find out.
The views expressed are those of the speakers and not necessarily those of the European Central Bank.
Recorded on 4 February 2026 and published on 17 February 2026.
In this episode:
00:57 How safe is your bank?
How are euro area banks doing? How does the ECB – together with national supervisors – examine their health?
03:51 What risks should banks be focusing on?
How is the external environment in which banks operate changing? How can risks from geopolitical uncertainty, digitalisation and climate change feed through to banks?
06:02 How is supervision evolving?
In a changing external environment, we need new strategies to properly manage new risks. How is European supervision adapting to become more efficient, effective and risk-focused?
08:57 Why is supervision so complex?
Modern banks are complex, operating across borders and with different business models. How can we reduce undue complexity in supervision?
10:54 Let’s talk about competitiveness
Do regulation and supervision hinder the competitiveness of euro area banks? What does the banking sector need to do to stay competitive, and how can European banking supervision help?
13:02 Our guest’s hot tips
Claudia Buch shares her hot tips.
Streamlining supervision, safeguarding resilience:
https://www.bankingsupervision.europa.eu/framework/approach/html/simplification.en.html
Governing Council proposes simplification of EU banking rules: https://www.ecb.europa.eu/press/pr/date/2025/html/ecb.pr251211~aa5c9271b8.en.html
Banking supervision explained
https://www.bankingsupervision.europa.eu/about/banking-supervision-explained/html/index.en.html
Espresso Economics
https://www.youtube.com/@Espresso_Economics
ECB Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/europeancentralbank/
Euro Matters – the European Central Bank Podcast