Are the current rules too complex?

Banks are the backbone of our economy. In a rapidly changing environment, they need to adapt and stay competitive to keep providing funding to people and businesses. But so does ECB Banking Supervision. What are we doing to become more efficient, effective and risk-focused? And how are we simplifying supervision while safeguarding resilience? Our host Stefania Secola speaks to Supervisory Board member Sharon Donnery to find out. The views expressed are those of the speakers and not necessarily those of the European Central Bank. Published on 1 October 2025 and recorded on 24 September 2025. In this episode: 01:10 How are Europe’s banks doing? What is going well? What about the challenges banks face, like those coming from geopolitical tensions, digitalisation and the climate crisis? And are we seeing signs of deterioration in banks’ asset quality? 04:12 Are the current rules too complex? Are Europe’s banks over-regulated? Why does a complex business like banking need sufficiently developed rules? And is there room to make things simpler for both supervisors and banks? 05:34 Does simplification mean deregulation? How do they differ from one another? And how will we put guardrails in place to safeguard the resilience we have worked so hard to build in the banking sector? 08:33 How are we simplifying how we supervise banks? What concrete steps have we taken? How will these change our regular health check for banks and the way we conduct stress tests? 11:22 Who is involved in simplifying supervision? How do we make sure that the right people are involved? And how are banks, banking federations, academics and others involved in the work that’s being done? 13:04 What does simplification mean for banks, supervisors and customers? More efficiency, shorter timelines and better use of limited resources? And how can banking union give customers more options when it comes to products and services? 15:53 What about simplifying regulation? Beyond how we supervise banks, what steps are being taken to simplify the rules? What is being done at the European level, and how is our work on supervision feeding into that? 18:22 Our guest’s hot tip Sharon shares her hot tip with our listeners. Further reading: As simple as possible, but not simpler https://www.bankingsupervision.europa... Sharon’s hot tip: Making European supervision more efficient, effective and risk-focused https://www.bankingsupervision.europa... ECB Instagram / europeancentralbank