European Central Bank highlights improved resilience of banks since 2012

Guillaume Benoit: Guillaume Benoit is a journalist at Les Echos who co-conducted the interview with Patrick Montagner on October 7, 2026. His questions cover potential consequences for banks from higher rates, sovereign bond holdings, and widening spreads, as well as the ECB’s stance on the Single Rulebook and output floor. Ingrid Feuerstein: Ingrid Feuerstein is a journalist at Les Echos who co-conducted the interview with Patrick Montagner on October 7, 2026. Her questions address the effects of rising interest rates on bank balance sheets, funding costs, and lending activity. She also explores comparisons with past crises and the role of regulatory simplification in maintaining stability. Patrick Montagner: Patrick Montagner is a Member of the Supervisory Board of the ECB, where he contributes to banking supervision across the euro area. In his Les Echos interview, he explains that current conditions differ markedly from the 2012 sovereign debt crisis, with banks benefiting from improved capital quality and recent profitability. He advocates caution on any relaxation of requirements amid growing uncertainties from interest rates, geopolitics, and private asset markets. European Central Bank: The European Central Bank serves as the central bank for the euro area with responsibility for both monetary policy and prudential supervision of banks. Patrick Montagner, a member of its Supervisory Board, highlights in the interview that banks under its oversight have stronger shock-absorbing capacity than in previous crises. The institution stresses the need to preserve this resilience while considering adjustments to an increasingly complex regulatory framework. Emerging Risks: Artificial intelligence is identified as a source of uncertainty that could reshape credit extension, market operations, and risk hedging by banks. Financial Stability: The ECB views European banks as starting from a much stronger position than during the 2012 sovereign debt crisis when interbank lending had frozen. Regulatory Framework: The ECB supports keeping a Single Rulebook while favoring targeted adjustments to reduce overlapping and sometimes contradictory capital requirements from multiple authorities.