In co-operation with Freshfields, the Center for Financial Studies, the Institute for Law and Finance (ILF) successfully held the 11th Annual Conference on the Banking Union focusing on the “Judicial Review on the Banking Union” on 2 September 2025.
This year’s conference revolved around the exploration of the system of legal protection as well as the role of European courts and administrative bodies within the system of “checks and balances” in the Banking Union. Key aspects discussed included the development and functioning of judicial and administrative review, the impact of courts in promoting the Banking Union and shaping banking regulation, supervision, and resolution, as well as trends, challenges and opportunities in this respect. Implications for the current state and the future of the Banking Union were also considered.
At the beginning of the conference, Dr. Hendrik Haag, Member of the Board, Institute for Law and Finance, and Dr. Janina Heinz, Partner, Freshfields, delivered the welcoming remarks.
The first part of the conference started with the speech “A thorough judicial review for a credible framework” held by Mr. Dominique Laboureix, Chair of the Single Resolution Board. Ms. Anna Dunn, UK CEO and EMEA CFO at JPMorgan Chase, then spoke on the topic of "SRM – an international bank’s perspective“. The following panel discussion consisted of the former speakers, Dr. Christy Ann Petit, Assistant Professor at the Dublin City University, and Dr. Andreas von Bonin, Partner, Freshfields. The panel was moderated by Prof. Dr. Elke Gurlit, Professor at the University of Mainz.
The second part of the conference kicked off after lunch with a presentation by Prof. Dr. René Smits, Professor emeritus at the University of Amsterdam, who talked about “Court oversight of ECB supervision: the first 11 years“. He was followed by Mr. Adam Farkas, CEO of the Association for Financial Markets in Europe, with the speech “Transparency and accountability in banking supervision in the Banking Union“. The fifth lecture of the day “The Administrative Board of Review (ABoR) – a pragmatic appeal route without publicity” was delivered by Mr. Pentti Hakkarainen, Chair of the Administrative Board of Review of the European Central Bank.
The conference was closed by a panel discussion consisting of the moderator Dr. Janina Heinz, Partner, Freshfields, and former speakers Prof. Dr. René Smits, Mr. Adam Farkas and Mr. Pentti Hakkarainen.
