The paper offers a critical assessment of the financial reforms adopted or proposed at the European level. The reshaping of the EU institutional architecture and the adoption of the new Basel 3 rules should reduce the national margins of discretion that have up to now characterised supervisory...

The recent crisis has promoted a rethinking of financial globalisation, a revision that has also partially interested some official circles. National supervisors have often reacted to the crises of cross-border banks by ring fencing local interests. Some proposals (e.g. the Vickers Report and...

The paper addresses two main points: the deficiencies of the past regulatory design and the additional dangers coming from financial reforms that increase the regulatory powers of supervisors. The first point is briefly dealt with reference to past experience and alternative theoretical...

Since the late 1980s financial systems have gradually gone through profound changes in their regulatory framework. The most notable trait of this evolution is convergence towards some basic principles laid down by the Basle Committee on Banking Supervision. While some countries opted not to...