European Central Bank Governing Council member Christian Noyer said Thursday that 2013 marked a key turning point toward a “normalization” of the Eurozone, with the advance toward banking union the greatest achievement.
“Important progress has been achieved to reinforce stability of economic and monetary union – in particular advances toward banking union,” Noyer said in his New Year address to bankers and financial officials in Paris.
He said the key challenge to come will be the ECB’s comprehensive examination of bank balance sheets in the months ahead.
“It is a question of starting the single bank supervision on a transparent and robust base to restore the confidence of investors,” he said.
Noyer, who heads the Bank of France, also diverged from the text of his speech to offer support for President Francois Hollande’s recently announced economic reforms.
The reforms, which include cutting labor costs for business, are essential and need to be implemented as quickly as possible, Noyer said.