An EU capital market union should be set up to complement an EU banking union in order to rebalance debt and equity financing across the region, according to the chairman of the European Banking Authority (EBA), Andrea Enria.

It is believed that the Irish banks have concluded their meetings with the ECB to discuss the comprehensive assessment of the banking system.

Over the past few days, politicians and regulators have reassured angry and bruised taxpayers that another bank meltdown will never happen again.

Irish banks will have to prove they can withstand another slump in property prices, a surge in unemployment, and sclerotic growth over a three-year period as part of the EU-wide stress tests later this year.

Under the EU banking union, troubled banks in small countries like Ireland will get the same treatment as those from bigger countries.

The Government has introduced the right kind of policies to create sustained economic growth that is not dependent on the financial sector, according to ECB executive board member Yves Hersch.

The credit ratings agency, Standard & Poor’s, does not expect any major capital holes to emerge during the comprehensive assessment of eurozone banks over the course of 2014.

One can only imagine the exchanges between Bank of Ireland chief executive, Richie Boucher, and the Central Bank last weekend.

There is no prospect for higher interest rates in the foreseeable future if the eurozone is entering a period of long-term stagnation, said Ewald Nowotny, ECB governing council member yesterday.

WHETHER Newbridge Credit Union is an isolated example of a rogue institution in a relatively stable sector, or whether it is symptomatic of a much wider malaise is possibly a multi-billion euro question.

If the EU banking union proposals are implemented in full then it will avoid governments having to bail out banks in the future, according to Gert Jan Koopman, deputy director general for state aid at the European Commission’s Directorate General for Competition.

The EU-wide stress tests scheduled for March 2014 could be rolled out indefinitely to avoid lumpy recapitalisations, according to the global head of market economics at BNP Paribas, Paul Mortimer-Lee.

There is a fascinating piece in the latest issue of The Atlantic magazine called ‘Stop spoiling the shareholders’.

The low interest rate environment is forcing investors into more risky assets such as equities and property, but the lack of credit throughout the eurozone is putting a cap on opportunities.

The Central Bank still has to appoint a head of the financial stability division three years after the previous head left the post.

The National Treasury Management Agency will auction €500m of three-month treasury bills tomorrow as part of its ongoing engagement with the market prior to the exit from the bailout programme in November.

Stress tests of the Irish banking system should happen as soon as possible and if the banks then need capital it has to come from an EU fund, former government adviser Alan Ahearne has said.

Finance Minister Michael Noonan said securing a precautionary credit line prior to exiting the EU/IMF bailout programme was not essential because of the country’s successful re-entry to the bond markets.

The Government’s recent 10-year bond issue was well received by international investors and the 4.15% yield offers a stable multi-year funding programme, says Guy Monson, managing partner of the Swiss private bank, Sarrasin.

Fine Gael TD Peter Matthews estimates there is up to €30bn in losses still lurking in the balance sheets of the Irish banks.

It looks as if AIB and Bank of Ireland will both be supervised directly from Frankfurt when the EU banking union comes into operation in Mar 2014, according to the Department of Finance’s Aidan Carrigan.

The benefits for the Irish economy and banking system from a European banking union will far outweigh any potential downsides, the former government adviser Alan Ahearne has argued.

The EU banking union, intended to save banks from bringing down states, is teetering on the edge as countries battle to save their domestic interests.

Shoring up Europe's banking sector and strengthening oversight of economic policies are the issues at the top of the agenda during a meeting of EU finance ministers that is expected to expose divisions among the continent's powers.

Finance Minister Michael Noonan said he “won’t take a lot of notice” of a statement by his German, Dutch, and Finnish counterparts earlier this week which cast doubt over plans to ease bank debt.

Irish bond yields rose by 0.25% in trading yesterday on the back of comments made on Tuesday night by the finance ministers from Germany, Holland and Finland that appeared to rule out a deal on Irish bank debt.

The National Treasury Management Agency is taking advantage of the benign conditions for government debt by issuing €500m in three-month treasury bills (T-bill) tomorrow.

The Governor of the Central Bank has called for the creation of a European 'banking union'.