The financial supervisors of the European Union are slowly becoming uneasy about the increasing risks in the financial system due to inflation, war and the energy crisis.
On Thursday, the European Systemic Risk Board (ESRB) therefore issued a "general warning" - the first since the body was set up in the wake of the 2010 financial crisis.
The ESRB had "identified a number of serious risks to financial stability" that "could materialize simultaneously, thereby mutually interacting and amplifying their impact".
The "recent geopolitical developments" have increased the likelihood of "tail risk scenarios", reports the Bloomberg news agency.
Real estate prices threatened to fall
Rising energy prices and energy shortages have resulted in "balance sheet stress for businesses and households", while higher-than-expected inflation has in turn tightened financial conditions.
The risk of asset prices falling, particularly in the real estate sector, is also serious.
The ESRB therefore calls on supervisors and market participants to prepare for the occurrence of residual risk scenarios.
According to the ESRB, banks in particular should take this into account in their capital planning.
However, the warning does not explicitly call for restraint in dividend payments - which was temporarily decreed during the pandemic.
In the warning, the ESRB points out the increasing risk of cyber attacks due to the war in Ukraine.
In the non-banking sector, for example, the liquidity bottlenecks due to exorbitant additional payment obligations on the energy exchanges are mentioned.