ECB plans more stress tests to ward off bank crises

The ECB plans to use further stress tests as part of its effort to ward off any future banking crises in the eurozone, a high-level official said yesterday.

The ECB directly supervises the eurozone’s 123 largest lenders, while smaller banks remain under the purview of national supervisors. It put lenders through hypothetical stress scenarios last year as part of an assessment of banks’ financial health, before taking overall responsibility for banking supervision in the eurozone in November.

“The stress testing will be part of the supervisory activities in the future, for sure, in some form or another,” said Jukka Vesala, an ECB director general.