A French candidate to head the European banking rescue net

Dominique Laboureix est secrétaire général de l'ACPR depuis fin 2019.

Posted Oct 2, 2022, 3:43 PM

It is a function unknown to the general public but which could be on the front line in the event of a new banking crisis. A Frenchman could soon take over the presidency of the Single Resolution Council (CRU), the lifeline of European banks.

According to our information, Dominique Laboureix, secretary general of the Prudential Supervisory and Resolution Authority (ACPR), is in competition with Finland’s Tuija Taos to take over from Germany’s Elke König, whose term of office expires in end of the year. Bloomberg also mentions these names.

Dominique Laboureix knows the institution well. He was a member of the Single Resolution Council from its creation, where he was responsible in particular for planning the resolution, before being appointed in October 2019 Secretary General of the ACPR, the French banking policeman which depends on the Bank of France.

Other procedure at the MES

The two finalists should be heard in the coming days by the European Parliament’s Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs. Some sources give good chances to the French candidate. This kind of sensitive appointments must respect certain balances within the European Union (EU) and are the subject of negotiations until the last moment.

The procedure comes as eurozone finance ministers seek a successor to Germany’s Klaus Regling as head of the European Stability Mechanism (ESM), the “European IMF” created during the sovereign debt crisis. The procedure, which began last spring, experienced a serious setback in September, when it appeared that neither of the two finalists – the Portuguese Joao Leao and the Luxembourger Pierre Gramegna – could reach the bar of 80% of the voting rights. of the MES fixed in the statutes.

French banks

Working closely with the European Central Bank (ECB), the Single Resolution Board, created in 2015 and based in Brussels, is responsible for “ensuring the orderly resolution of failing banks, with minimal impact on the real economy and public finances “. For this, it has the Single Resolution Fund (SRF) supplied by contributions from the banking sector.

Today supplemented with 66 billion euros, the SRF is supposed to represent 1% of the deposits covered by the end of next year, that is to say approximately 80 billion euros. French banks, which are the most important in the Banking Union, regularly complain of being the first contributors to the fund.

What benchmarks in a constantly changing world?

Political uncertainties, scientific innovations, war in Ukraine, energy and ecological transition… How to understand these changes? How to position yourself? Every day, the 200 journalists from the “Echos” editorial staff help you decipher economic, political and international news through surveys, analyses, press reviews, chronicles and editorials. Our subscribers know that they can rely on these resources to better navigate our complex environment and make the best strategic decisions.

I discover the offers