Simplification And Proportionality In The EU Banking Sector

The European banking sector is increasingly turning its attention to simplification, driven by the need to reduce unnecessary regulatory complexity, improve supervisory efficiency and strengthen the competitiveness of EU banks, while preserving financial stability. As emphasised by Frank Elderson, Member of the Executive Board of the European Central Bank (ECB) and Vice-Chair of the Supervisory Board, in his remarks on 19 June 2026, “Simplification maintains resilience, deregulation weakens it.” This distinction underpins the ECB’s approach to streamlining the regulatory and supervisory framework: the objective is to establish clearer, more coherent and more efficient requirements for banks and supervisors, without compromising prudential standards.