Towards a Macroprudential Policy in the EU

Abstract

The aim of the paper is to analyze the state of the art of macroprudential policies (MAP) with afocus on the case of the European Union. To this end the institutional framework of MAP isintroduced and discussed with regard to several issues: the relationships and/or the conflicts withother policies and among the different institutional bodies involved, their mandate, accountabilityand governance. The operative framework - intermediate and final targets and toolkit - isspecifically analyzed with regard to the case of the European Union and the introduction, in 2011,of a macroprudential supervisory pillar based on the European Systemic Risk Board (ESRB).Finally the main features of the new European supervisory architecture are addressed: theorganization of MAP within the Single Supervisory Mechanisms (SSM), the definition of the roleof the European Central Bank (ECB) and of the ESRB as far as macroprudential policy isconcerned. In the conclusions, we evaluate the new architecture which is quite complex andcumbersome, and the challenge that the SSM is facing: to achieve comprehensive, rational, effectiveand efficient supervision, avoiding overlapping of competences and clarifying the specific roles ofdifferent bodies while keeping away additional burdens for the institutions supervised.