Abstract

The essay includes some comparative reflections about the evolution of banking supervision in the European Union with special reference to the introduction in the Euro - Zone of a common bank supervision, through the Single Supervisory Mechanism (SSM - the first pillar of the ongoing construction of a Banking Union). A great process of transformation, due to the need to answer to the great financial crisis begun in 2007, during which the governing institutions of EU and of the member states are deeply reforming their respective models of regulation and supervision of financial markets. This towards achieving the goal (shared by every model of financial supervision) to strengthen as the overall stability of the financial system, as well as that of the single institutions. Under this point of view it is really interesting a functional comparison of SSM with the other models of regulation and supervision of the banking systems as classified in the studies about financial supervision architectures.