day - to - day supervision of significant banks. each team will be composed of staff from both the ecb and national supervisors. for the legal dimension of the ssm, preparations include the development of the so called framework regulation on covering cooperation within the ssm, among other things. in this respect, a public consultation is expected to take place during first half of 2014. banking supervision requires a smooth flow of information between banks and their supervisors. to this end, a high - standard data reporting framework and the associated infrastructures for the ssm are being developed. banks ’ perspective on ssm are there any benefits for banks? from the banks ’ perspective, the introduction of the ssm means numerous changes. i will mention here only a few of them. for a cross - border bank, operating in multiple countries within the banking union, the single supervision effectively simplifies its contacts with the authorities. it will need to work with a single supervisor and operate following a single rulebook. this implies lower costs for the bank in complying with the regulatory requirements. common rules and methods of supervision also have a broader impact on competition among banks, not only for international but also domestically oriented banks. the banks are treated equally in supervision and regulatory capture can be fully avoided, thereby ensuring a level playing field. in general, i believe that the ssm will become one of the leading banking supervisors in the world, applying the best possible tools for supervision – and developing such tools also for the benefit of other supervisors. bis central bankers ’ speeches macroprudential policy finally, i would like to point out that alongside the preparations for the ssm, a new systemic angle is being added to supervision. also through the new eu capital requirement legislation, macroprudential policy is becoming effective in the eu. macroprudential policy is about identifying, preventing and mitigating systemic risks through the application of macroprudential instruments. a key macroprudential instrument to be included in the toolbox of authorities in the eu is the counter - cyclical capital buffer. the relevant authorities may require banks to hold an extra buffer of capital in addition to minimum requirements, for instance if credit growth in the financial system is deemed excessive. macroprudential policy responsibilities lie in the first place with the national authorities, but the ssm regulation assigns some macroprudential tasks also to the ecb. in particular, the ecb may decide on stricter measures than national authorities, using the counter -

cyclical buffer or other macro - prudential tools provided for by the eu legislation. as a conclusion, i would like to end my presentation on a positive note ; not only central bankers but also other public authorities are showing great determination in developing the banking union and a lot of progress has been made to correct basic flaws we have had in our internationally integrated financial markets. and in doing that, national interests, and i argue that banks'interests as well, are aligned with the general objectives of the banking union. bis central bankers ’ speeches