Annual report 2008 - European Banking Authority - Europa

4FOREWORDResponses to the financial crisis have in many cases had crosssectoraldimensions. Many issues have been linked tooverarching questions of accounting and valuation. In orderto make sure that supervisors are responding in a coordinatedway it was necessary to step up the co-operationbetween the three level three Committees (3L3). We havesigned a new protocol and the co-operation has been given amore solid foundation in the sense that the Chairs are nowgiven rotating responsibility for coordinating the 3L3 jointwork, supported by their respective Secretariats. Thisimproved organisation should provide a good foundation forany new cross-sector structure for co-operation amongsupervisors. In this context we submitted to the EuropeanCommission a joint response on the de Larosière report andon the European Commission’s consultation on theimprovement of supervision of the financial sector.Even if the focus for CEBS is Europe we have a close eye onwhat is going on in the wider world. The financial crisis isglobal in nature and requires global responses. Several of ourwork streams are continuing in parallel with thecorresponding groups at the Basel Committee on BankingSupervision.Secretary General Andrea Enria, who had been with CEBSfrom its inception, returned to his home authority during2008 and Arnoud Vossen was appointed to be the newSecretary General. The CEBS Secretariat is the hub of allCEBS’s activities going on in Expert Groups and Task Forces.Additionally, in 2008, we set up several ad hoc groups dealingwith specific tasks we were mandated. The Secretariat has,together with hardworking representatives from memberauthorities, delivered outstanding results in those groups andtask forces. It is thanks to all these highly professional peoplethat we can fulfil our commitments.CEBS has now completed its first five years. Looking forward,I can assure you that we will continue the evolutionaryapproach with its two prongs of better regulatoryharmonisation and more convergence of supervisorypractices. Gradually, we will also give substance to theconcept of a common European supervisory culture. At thesame time, we stand ready to contribute to a refined andmore robust architecture in the light of the present discussionof repairs to both the regulatory and supervisory frameworks.In summary, CEBS has achieved much in 2008, but there is alot more to do.