SRM

In economic policy debate, SRM most often refers to the Single Resolution Mechanism, the European Union framework for the orderly resolution of failing banks in the Banking Union. It was established by Regulation (EU) No 806/2014 and became fully operational on 1 January 2016, complementing the Single Supervisory Mechanism (SSM) run by the European Central Bank.

The SRM has two core components:

• The Single Resolution Board (SRB), headquartered in Brussels, which is the central resolution authority for significant banks and cross-border groups in participating member states.
• The Single Resolution Fund (SRF), financed by ex-ante contributions from banks themselves, designed to reach a target level of at least 1% of covered deposits of all credit institutions in the Banking Union.

The mechanism applies the bail-in tool introduced by the Bank Recovery and Resolution Directive (BRRD), under which shareholders and certain creditors absorb losses before any public money or SRF funds are used. This sequencing was a direct policy response to the 2008–2012 financial crises, when sovereign bailouts of banks generated a "doom loop" between bank balance sheets and state finances, most visibly in Ireland, Spain, and Cyprus.

The SRM covers euro-area member states automatically and is open to non-euro EU states through close cooperation arrangements. Decisions to place a bank in resolution typically involve the SRB, the European Commission, and the Council, and must satisfy a public interest test — otherwise the bank is wound up under national insolvency law.

In other policy contexts, "SRM" can also denote Solar Radiation Management in climate geoengineering discussions or Supplier Relationship Management in trade and procurement literature. Atlas users should confirm which usage applies in a given committee or briefing; in EU economic and financial affairs, the Single Resolution Mechanism is the default reading.