10 March 2003

ECB: MoU between banking supervisors and EU central banks in crisis management situations

The banking supervisory authorities and the central banks of the European Union have agreed on a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on high-level principles of co-operation in crisis management situations. The co-operation is aimed at pursuing the common objective of banking supervisors and central banks of ensuring the stability of the financial system.

The MoU aims to enhance the practical arrangements for handling crises at the EU level and represents a contribution by banking supervisors and central banks towards meeting the recommendations made by the Economic and Financial Committee in its Report on financial crisis management, as endorsed by the ECOFIN Council.

The MoU consists of a set of principles and procedures for cross-border co-operation between banking supervisors and central banks in crisis situations. These principles and procedures deal specifically with the identification of the authorities responsible for crisis management, the required flows of information between all the involved authorities and the practical conditions for sharing information at the cross-border level. The MoU also provides for the setting-up of a logistical infrastructure to support the enhanced cross-border co-operation between authorities.

The MoU has entered into effect on 1 March 2003.

ECB press release EFC report on financial crises management

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