The Board will be responsible for the resolution planning and – if the worst comes to the worst– the resolution of those banks that have been under the direct supervision of the European Central Bank since 4 November 2014. To that end, the Board also manages the Single Resolution Fund.

In addition to Dr König and her Vice-Chairman, Timo Löyttyniemi (Finland), the Single Resolution Board – the Single Resolution Mechanism’s executive and decision-making body – has another four full-time members: Mauro Grande (Italy), Antonio Carrascosa (Spain), Joanne Kellermann (Netherlands) and Dominique Laboureix (France). All told, the Board is expected to have around 250 members of staff, who are to be recruited by the end of 2016.

Dr König, after three years you are leaving Bonn for Brussels. Will you miss BaFin?

I am looking forward to my new job, but of course I will also miss BaFin. The last three years have been an exciting time. We have seen how public awareness of consumer protection – which has long been a major issue for BaFin – has grown, and we have launched, supported and driven forward many important projects – for example, in connection with the new insurance supervision regime, Solvency II, and of course the start of Banking Union, with the EU’s Single Supervisory Mechanism (SSM), to mention just two examples. I will of course find it hard to leave these projects behind halfway through. But at least I will continue to be closely involved with the SSM – it will just be from somewhere else.

What is it about the new job that attracts you the most?

It involves setting up a completely new entity in the EU, the counterpart of the SSM, so to speak, albeit much smaller. We must not forget here that in Europe we have not only very different institutions but also very different cultures. We must take due account of these differences. That may be hard, but it will also be very exciting. Many good ideas and approaches that can help us succeed have been developed here in Germany, at BaFin.

Do you see the biggest challenge lying in the different cultures?

One of the biggest, yes. It will, of course, also take a lot of hard work and skill to implement the European Recovery and Resolution Directive and to activate the resolution plans. And it will certainly also be a challenge to define and fulfil our role in the interrelationships between European and national supervisory and resolution authorities. We must ensure that mutual cooperation and communication function smoothly.

So you are also bound to remain in close contact with BaFin.

Yes, I hope so. BaFin is and remains a major national authority, with great know how, especially in the field of resolution, even though in principle the Federal Agency for Financial Market Stabilisation (FMSA) has been responsible for this in Germany since the start of the year.

What do you want to achieve in your new position?

We need to ensure that the financial sector, too, follows the rules of the market economy again. If the worst comes to the worst, that must mean bail ins instead of bail-outs, resolution instead of being rescued by the state. That was and is also a key issue for us in the Financial Stability Board (FSB).

The new President of BaFin is Felix Hufeld, who was previously Chief Executive Director Insurance and Pension Funds Supervision. Is there anything you’d like to help your successor on his way with?

I am sure that Mr Hufeld doesn’t need any advice from me. But one thing is certainly true: the world of supervision and therefore BaFin as well are undergoing radical changes. This also entails changes in functions, which demand a different approach in some cases. I know that Mr Hufeld, like me, is convinced of the concept of integrated financial supervision, and for him, all his colleagues and myself as well, I hope that BaFin continues to make quite a big mark in the future world of supervision.

Thank you very much, Dr König. We wish you all the best and much success in your new job.