Eurozone banks adapt to their new demanding and hands-on supervisor

Amsterdam

ACROSS the eurozone, bank compliance officers dream about saying "No" to their new regulator in Frankfurt. The European Central Bank (ECB) is living up to its promise of being an intrusive and hands-on banking supervisor with a constant demand for data, including minutes of board meetings and regular on-site visits.

At a recent meeting of bank compliance officers, one official wondered out loud what would happen if he simply said "No" to an ECB data request. "And it was like: ooh, you're going to try out the 'no'?" a compliance manager at the meeting recalled. "But I don't think anybody is going to actually do it."

The ECB took on oversight of the currency bloc's largest banks late last year after a year-long review of their finances, known as the "Asset Quality Review", which saw banks deploy thousands of staff and submi…