SRB (Single Resolution Board)

The Single Resolution Board (SRB) is the central resolution authority within the European Banking Union, headquartered in Brussels. It became fully operational on 1 January 2016 under Regulation (EU) No 806/2014, known as the Single Resolution Mechanism Regulation (SRMR). The SRB works alongside the European Central Bank's Single Supervisory Mechanism (SSM) and national resolution authorities to manage the orderly failure of significant banks in participating Member States.

The SRB's core mandate is to ensure that when a bank is "failing or likely to fail," it can be wound down without triggering systemic disruption or requiring taxpayer-funded bailouts. To do this, the Board:

• Draws up resolution plans for around 110 directly supervised banking groups, including cross-border institutions.
• Sets the Minimum Requirement for Own Funds and Eligible Liabilities (MREL), ensuring banks hold enough loss-absorbing capacity.
• Manages the Single Resolution Fund (SRF), financed by ex-ante contributions from banks, which reached its target level in 2023.
• Applies resolution tools such as bail-in, sale of business, bridge institution, and asset separation, as set out in the Bank Recovery and Resolution Directive (BRRD).

The SRB's most prominent action to date was the June 2017 resolution of Banco Popular Español, which was sold to Banco Santander for €1 after shareholders and junior creditors were bailed in. This was the first full application of the SRMR and remains a reference case in EU resolution law, with extensive litigation before the General Court and Court of Justice of the EU.

The Board operates in plenary and executive sessions, chaired since 2023 by Dominique Laboureix. Its decisions can be reviewed by an internal Appeal Panel and challenged before EU courts. The SRB is a key pillar of the Banking Union, alongside supervision and the still-incomplete European Deposit Insurance Scheme (EDIS).