Professor Philip Lane:

Let me make two or three points, one of which is that there is very close co-operation across the European system. There is a single European system of financial supervision. For banks, it is absolute because the decision on whether to grant a banking licence is taken by the European Central Bank through the single supervisory mechanism in Frankfurt. In other sectors such as insurance and investment funds there is a common framework, but there is a degree of difference in interpretation at national level. Within the various committees at which we meet at a European level there would be a discussion to come up with a common philosophy and framework. That process is ongoing.