The European banking union is based on three pillars: (i) the SSM, which is responsible for supervising credit institutions and the banking sector; (ii) the Single Resolution Mechanism, which comprises the Single Resolution Board and a Single Resolution Fund for unviable credit institutions; and (iii) a European Deposit Insurance Scheme, which is still in development at the time of writing. These three pillars rest on the foundation of the Single Rulebook, which applies to all EU countries. European banking supervision aims to contribute to the safety and soundness of credit institutions and the stability of the financial system by ensuring that banking supervision across the euro area is of a high standard and is consistently applied to all banks. While retaining ultimate responsibility, the ECB carries out its supervisory tasks within the SSM, comprising the ECB and the NCAs. This structure provides for strong and consistent supervision of all supervised entities across the euro area, while making the best use of the local and specific know-how of national supervisors. On the basis of the tasks entrusted to the ECB by the European legislator, the supervisory authorities have defined a mission statement for European banking supervision and determined its supervisory principles. The work of the SSM supervisors should at all times be guided by the mission statement of the SSM, the strategic intents of the SSM and the organisational principles for the SSM.
