Claudia Buch to chair the ECB’s Supervisory Board

During the plenary sitting that took place on October 3rd in Strasbourg, the European Parliament (EP) voted in favour of the appointment of Claudia Buch as New Chair of the Supervisory Board (SSM) of the European Central Bank (ECB). Buch has been elected by a majority of 357 votes, whereas 195 MEPs voted against her nomination.

On September 20th, prior to the plenary session, the current Vice President of the German Bundesbank passed a hearing in front of the EP’s Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs (ECON). Buch was the main candidate for the role of new Chair of the SSM, which oversees the euro zone’s 109 biggest banks including Banque et Caisse d’Epargne de l’Etat, Banque Internationale à Luxembourg, Quintet Private Bank and RBC Investor Services Bank. The German economist had been designated by the ECB during the previous week and had thereby been preferred to Margarita Delgado, Deputy Governor of the Bank of Spain. Delgado represented the EP’s preferred candidate, due to of her large experience as supervisor.

Claudia Buch’s three priorities

In her appointment speech, Buch indicated three main priorities of her potential term as Chair of the SSM. First, she would be adapting the existing supervisory framework to the changing economic environment, characterised by high and diverse risks. Second, she would aim at making supervision more proactive. Finally, she would enhance further cooperation with stakeholders, with the objective of completing the banking union. Nevertheless, MEPs’ interventions largely pointed at the very legitimacy of Buch’s candidature for the role. Among others, Jonas Fernandez (S&D) recalled that the Chair of the SSM shall not be a member of the ECB Governing Council. Buch thus assured the Committee that she would have immediately resigned from the Bundesbank in case of appointment.

Other crucial points

From a technical perspective, Buch discussed several crucial points at the time. She indicated the completion of the banking union as a pivotal target, mentioning the European Deposit Insurance Scheme (EDIS) as a key component. Furthermore, she described financial literacy as a crucial aspect to enhance retail investors’ portfolios. On anti-money laundering, she aimed at improving cross-border information sharing. Finally, she expressed the need for streamlining and making banking regulation less complex, where this complexity results excessive.

Despite the harsh hearing, the result of the secret ballot eventually awarded Buch the support of the ECON Committee. Now, following the positive vote at the plenary session of the EP, Buch is ready to take over from current Chairman Andrea Enria.