European Banking Union Faces Long Road Ahead

The European Commission’s detailed proposal for a “banking union” marks an important step toward bringing the Euro crisis under control and securing a sustainable future for Europe.

However, it also underscores just how much still needs to be done and how many political disputes still need to be fought before such a union can be implemented.

Most observers agree that key features of a so-called banking union should include:

• A common deposit guarantee fund
• A single authority to “resolve” banks when they get into trouble
• A common rulebook for banks
• Integrated enforcement of the rulebook and overall supervision of banks

Europe has needed these things for years to make a fully integrated market in financial services truly workable. However, it took the Euro crisis to raise the stakes high enough to overcome the opposition of entrenched interests.

 Read the full op-ed at CNN.com »