Andreas Dombret, one of six members of the Bundesbank’s executive board, has reinforced the perception that the so-called shadow banking system is at the forefront of European regulators’ concerns in an interview with Euromoney.
Euromoney: Your responsibilities include financial stability. As a result of the crisis, has the system of regulation changed in Germany? Dombret: In the main, no, there is still the same division of responsibility between the Bundesbank and BaFin [Bundesanstalt für Finanzdienstleistungsaufsicht, the Federal Financial Supervisory Authority]. The Bundesbank is charged with the ongoing supervision of banks. It is a decentralized supervision model with nine regional offices, so we assess the banks with people who know them well.
We report the information to BaFin and it is ultimately its responsibility to take any supervisory measures. That separation of responsibilities is important because it protecmacro-prudentialts the Bundesbank’s independence. We are not part of the finance ministry and do not report to parliament. Only a body that is accountable in that way can make a decision such as expelling a board member or closing a bank.
 |
| Andreas Dombret, Bundesbank |