Analyzing ongoing changes in the design of regulatory and supervisory authorities over the banking and financial industry in Europe, this comprehensive Handbook pays particular attention to the role of national central banks, the new financial supervisory authorities and the European Central Bank (ECB). The contributors, all experts in their fields, begin by presenting the current situation in Europe, focusing on the role of the central banks, before going on to illustrate the supervisory architecture reforms of the late 1990s. The Handbook also highlights the emerging role of new integrated financial authorities through an analysis of different national case studies. This new original reference book concludes with a review of the various options now available for the design of supervisory architecture at the European level, considering also the possible involvement of the ECB. The Handbook tackles a number of controversial issues including: why financial supervision architecture is important and why the issue has arisen at the present time? the roles of national central banks and national policymakers in alternative financial supervisory structures; and the advantages and potentia This essential Handbook is a major multidisciplinary work and will be of great value to scholars and academics - principally in economics, finance and European studies but also politics and law - as well as regulators and supervisory institutions.