With the SSM a single supervisor for significant banks in the euro area and the participating Member States is newly established and will become operative for the first time in November 2014. This is a major shift in the European supervisory architecture. The Single Supervisory Mechanism Regulation (SSMR) and the so called Framework Regulation of the ECB (FR) are the legal instruments which establish the institutional and operational skeleton for the SSM becoming operative in November 2014. Banks (significant and such which might become significant), regulators (including the ECB), scholars and interested parties will look at the functioning of the SSM and will therefore be interested in such a book. Content overview: A. Introduction B. Purpose of the SSM and basic functioning C. Fundamental legal questions D. Determining the significance of credit institutions E. The supervision of significant credit institutions by the ECB F. The functions of the ECB in connection with the supervision of less significant credit institutions G. Common procedures H. Close cooperation J. The SSM and the role of EBA K. Supervisory fees Dr Klaus Lackhoff heads the market abuse department of the ECB. Previously, he has been working in a leading law firm in the banking supervisory team. ukryj opis