Third edition of the FISEA
This is the third edition of the European Central Bank’s biennial report on financial integration and structure in the euro area (FISEA). As explained in greater detail when the first edition was released in March 2020, it is designed to focus on structural developments in the financial system of the euro area and, in some cases, of the European Union (EU), as well as on related policy issues. In so doing, it covers developments in financial integration across member countries, changes in financial structure (the mixture of financial markets and intermediaries) and financial development or modernisation (for example through innovations in the financial system). Definitions of these three concepts and how they link to Eurosystem tasks and functions were provided in more detail in the 2020 preface.
The findings of this report concern issues relevant for the policy discussion related to the European banking union, the European capital markets union and thus the financial aspects of deepening Economic and Monetary Union.