Single Supervisory Mechanism

Governance

Supervisory Board

The Regulations of the Single Supervisory Mechanism (SSM) emphasise the need to preserve independence between the supervisory role of the European Central Bank (ECB) and its monetary policy responsibilities. To ensure this, a Supervisory Board has been created which plans and executes the supervisory duties of the ECB, carries out preparatory tasks and proposes draft decisions for the final approval of the ECB Governing Council. This Supervisory Board consists of a chair, a vice-chair, a representative of each national authority and four representatives of the ECB.

Governing Council

As the decision-making body of the ECB, the Governing Council has ultimate responsibility for adopting supervisory measures through the “no objection” procedure. This procedure means that this body cannot modify the draft decisions submitted by the Supervisory Board, but it can send them back for reconsideration.

Mediation Panel

This body settles disagreements between the Supervisory Board and the Governing Council, if requested by a national authority. It comprises a representative of each member state which also participates in the Governing Council or the Supervisory Board.

Administrative Board of Review

After a decision is approved by the Governing Council, affected persons or legal entities may request a review of the decision by the Administrative Board of Review. In this case, the Board will carry out an internal administrative review of the supervisory decisions of the ECB and send non-binding opinions on them to the Supervisory Board, which must then draw up a new draft decision. It consists of five independent members.

Supervisory Board Steering Committee

The Steering Committee consists of eight members of the Supervisory Board (chair, vice-chair, a representative of the BCE and five representatives of the national competent authorities (NCAs) with a one-year mandate). It supports the activities of the Supervisory Board and prepare its meetings.