on certain industry dynamics, such as the extent of cross - ccp participation in various asset classes, and the scope for expanding interoperability. allow me to say a few words in conclusion. i have tried to present some of the benefits and challenges i would see from the continuing implementation of ccp interoperability. since the early days of the giovanni group, authorities have kept their focus on financial markets integration, but at the same time they have given increasing attention to financial stability concerns. ccp interoperability can play an important role to foster the first objective. nonetheless, we should not underestimate the complexity and the potential risks involved in establishing and supervising interoperability arrangements, particularly if interoperability spreads to new asset classes in future. i am confident that the collective supervisory process established under emir, which allows all relevant authorities to contribute to the monitoring of risks, can meet these challenges. the ongoing emir review process, as well as the upcoming report on the systemic risk and cost implications of interoperability arrangements, to be delivered by the commission to the european parliament and council, will provide us with an opportunity to discuss these issues and think about potential enhancements to the current regulatory framework. the ecb and the eurosystem look forward to contributing to these discussions. bis central bankers ’ speeches

). see “ the european crisis and the role of the financial system ”, speech by vitor constancio, vice - president of the ecb, at the bank of greece conference on “ the crisis in the euro area ” athens, 23 may 2013 ( ecb website ). bis central bankers ’ speeches besides these fundamental goals, banking union also involves two practical aspects of more immediate concern that i will now address : ( i ) the repairing of banks ’ balance sheets to unclog the impaired credit channel and consolidate the on - going mild economic recovery ; ( ii ) the reduction of the bank - sovereign loop in order to further mitigate the remaining financial fragmentation6. i will complete my remarks by addressing the role of the srm as the necessary complement to the ssm in the banking union and finally, by dwelling upon the broader implications of banking union for european integration. i will only briefly touch upon the ssm as my colleague daniele nouy will elaborate on ssm issues during her speech later today. bank recapitalisation and the economic recovery in the past few years, one could hear many voices urging european policy makers to repair the balance sheets of banks so that these could again lend to the real economy and jump start gdp growth. there will be no growth without finance, the narrative goes. in this vein, the fact that the u. s. has returned to robust economic growth faster than europe has been, to a large degree, attributed to policy - makers acting quickly to repair the balance sheets of u. s. banks. this narrative, while intuitively compelling, is missing two crucial points. the first is that euro area bank balance - sheet repair has started for some time already. as i recalled recently7, since the onset of the global financial crisis, the top 20 european banks have increased capital, net of share buy - backs, by higher amounts than the corresponding top 20 american banks : usd 289 billion by eu banks against usd 179 billion by u. s. banks. and according to the fdic, the leverage ratios of the biggest european banks, calculated according to the same accounting standards, are very close to their american peers8. furthermore, since midlast year in particular, european banks have implemented write - offs and increased provisions and capital, partly anticipating the comprehensive balance - sheet assessment that the ecb is conducting this year. our estimates based on public information indicate that ssm banks ( comprising 128 institutions ) have, from july 2013 to april 2014