Banking Union – Is there still a watchdog role for journalists?

After the financial crisis, the supervisory framework of the euro area banking sector has been seriously scaled up. This briefing argues, however, that there still is a watchdog role for journalists, as banking supervisors cannot single out banks that take excessive risks or fall short of other obligations. Based on a survey, we find that more than half of the significant banks in the euro area organise press conferences, which could provide a suitable forum for dedicated journalist to ask challenging questions, if needed.