In my usual quiet way, I was interviewed by Bloomberg last Thursday in anticipation of the European Banking Authority (EBA), previously the Committee of European Bank Supervisors (CEBS), about the forthcoming stress tests released on Friday.
Last year, these tests were quite laughable and this year I expected more of the same.
Here's the whole ten-minute interview and, for those who missed it, I loved this article in the Telegraph:
Europe's bank stress tests as bad as 1979 Irish driving test
Seeing large numbers of his fellow citizens failing their driving tests, Mr Barrett – in a quick bid for votes – declared that anyone who had taken their test twice and not passed would automatically qualify for a licence.
The consequences were predictable. At any one time, about 40pc of the Irish population were allowed to drive on the roads without ever actually having passed a test. Traffic accidents went up and insurance costs followed.
Andrea Enria, the chairman of the European Banking Authority, may not like the comparison, but the limited bank stress test results he unveiled on Friday are born of a similar motivation that led directly to Ireland’s until only very recently dysfunctional driving test system.
Like the Irish government 32 years ago, the EBA and the European Union are under the impression that their power to pass and fail banks will translate directly into making them better at what they do.
The fallacy of this approach is as obvious as the needlessly ruined lives and extortionate insurance premiums that once-blighted Ireland will attest.
Chris M Skinner
Chris Skinner is best known as an independent commentator on the financial markets through his blog, TheFinanser.com, as author of the bestselling book Digital Bank, and Chair of the European networking forum the Financial Services Club. He has been voted one of the most influential people in banking by The Financial Brand (as well as one of the best blogs), a FinTech Titan (Next Bank), one of the Fintech Leaders you need to follow (City AM, Deluxe and Jax Finance), as well as one of the Top 40 most influential people in financial technology by the Wall Street Journal's Financial News. To learn more click here...