European Banking Authority
The European Banking Authority (EBA) is the European body responsible for banking supervision. It is part of the European System of Financial Supervision (ESFS), a network consisting of the national supervisory authorities of the 27 EU member states, the three European Supervisory Authorities for banking, securities and insurance (EBA, ESMA, EIOPA), their Joint Committee and the European Sys-temic Risk Board (ESRB).
Together with the national supervisory authorities, the EBA’s task is to help to improve the quality and coherence of banking supervision in Europe, strengthen the oversight of cross-border banking groups and introduce a single European rulebook for financial institutions. Nonetheless, the competence and responsibility for overseeing financial institutions and markets in principle remains at the national level.
The EBA has not only taken over the tasks of the former Committee of European Banking Supervisors (CEBS), it is also responsible in particular for improving cross-border supervisory cooperation and harmonising EU supervisory legislation. Another important function of the EBA is its mediation role to resolve disputes between national supervisory authorities in the supervision of banking groups with EU-wide activities. In addition, the EBA is to support the national supervisory authorities in times of crisis. Under certain circumstances, it may even exercise its power to adopt decisions addressed to individual institutions.
