[38]As was done in Article 20 of the SSM Regulation in respect of the audit. [39]For general considerations on that matter, see Bini Smaghi, L. (2006), “  Independence and accountability of supervision in the European financial market”. [40]For instance, the German supervisory authority (Bundesanstalt für Finanzdienstleistungsaufsicht) is subject to  http://www.ecb.europa.eu/press/key/date/2017/html/sp170330.en.html[03.04.2017 15:53:14]  Central bank independence revisited  instructions from the Ministry of Finance. [41]See also Bini Smaghi, L. (2006), “  Independence and accountability of supervision in the European financial market”. [42]The Chair has a non-renewable term of office of five years  (Article 26(3) of the SSM Regulation) and may be dismissed from office following a special procedure by the appointing body (the Council) only in two specifically listed cases (Article 26(4) of the SSM Regulation). [43]The Vice Chair is chosen from among the members of the Executive Board and the independence safeguards for the Executive Board apply to her/him (Article 26(3) and (4) of the SSM Regulation). [44]The rules for the ECB representatives in the Supervisory Board are not set out in the SSM Regulation but in the ECB Decision on the appointment of representatives of the ECB to the Supervisory Board (ECB/2014/4), which defines a nonrenewable term of office of five years (Article 1(2)) and lists the two specific cases under which they can be dismissed from office by the appointing authority (the ECB’s Governing Council).

That would increase the capacity for stabilisation in the face of turmoil and would, at the same time, weaken the link between sovereign and banking risk. Regulatory challenges in the new technology environment Following these thoughts on the recent development of and future prospects for Banking Union, and its consequences for the financial system and financial stability, I shall devote the last part of my address to highlighting a number of regulatory challenges emerging in the financial sector’s new technology environment, in which new players, technologies and services have appeared. The digital transformation process is characterised by its high technology component, with applications that are accessible to society at large, and by the speed at which innovations are introduced. In this setting, it is no surprise that banking intermediation, which largely depends on exploiting information asymmetries, has viewed this revolution with a mixture of concern and interest. Concern because of the difficulties involved in adapting to the new environment and competing with the new market players (especially bigtech, which I mentioned earlier). Interest, because of the possibilities it offers to achieve synergies, improve the range of services on offer and secure efficiency gains in numerous internal processes. First, digital transformation offers significant potential advantages to companies, be it thanks to efficiency gains, progress in financial inclusion levels or the possibility for different intermediaries to better meet each customer’s needs. 6/9  However, as in any other transformation process, there are also new and important challenges to be addressed.