Policy

I work with central banks, regulators, and governments to take on some of the most challenging questions regarding the financial architecture in Europe today, with particular focus on banks, FinTechs and capital markets, and how they should be regulated. I ask — and attempt to answer — questions like: How does technology change the financial landscape, how does climate risk? And how can we build deep capital markets in Europe to ensure sustainable financing of firms going forward?

Recently, I provided in-depth advice on how to build integrated capital markets in Europe for the European Commission. My work on sovereign and bank credit risk has been regularly cited in speeches by key policymakers from the ECB, IMF and BIS, and has been published in several reports by the European Parliament and presented in public hearings in Brussels. My public policy work has been reported in media outlets such as the Financial Times and The Wall Stress Journal.

I also advise private institutions (such as large European private banks), e.g. in internal workshops and coaching sessions on related topics.

You can see my entire list of publications on my CV.

If you are interested in collaborating on a policy project, please contact me.

Recent Policy Work

Lautenbacher, S., J. Miethe, A. Peichl, S. Rumscheidt, and S. Steffen (2021). Eigenkapital staerken?! Im Rahmen des Vertrags zur Erstellung volkswirtschaftlicher Studien, IHK für München und Oberbayern, ifo Zentrum für Makroökonomik und Befragungen.

Acharya, V., and S. Steffen (2020). The risk of being a fallen angel and the corporate dash for cash in the midst of COVID, Covid Economics (10), 44-61.

Acharya, V., and S. Steffen (2020). “Stress Test” for Banks as Liquidity Insurers in a time of COVID. VoxEU.

Schneider, Y. and S. Steffen (2017). Feasibility Check: Transition to a New Regime for Bank Sovereign Exposure? In-Depth Analysis, provided at the request of the Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee, European Parliament.

Acharya, V., and S. Steffen (2017). The Importance of a Banking Union and Fiscal Union for a Capital Markets Union. Prepared for European Commission, Directorate-General for Economic and Financial Affairs.

Acharya, V., D. Pierret, and S. Steffen (2016). Introducing the “Leverage Ratio” in Assessing the Capital Adequacy of European Banks.

Acharya, V. and S. Steffen (2015). Is the Banking Union Stable and Resilient as it Looks? Prepared for Allen, F., E. Carletti (edts), The New Financial Architecture.

Steffen, S. (2015). Capital Shortfalls in SSM Banks: How much progress has been made? In-Depth Analysis, provided at the request of the Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee, European Parliament.

Steffen (2014). Robustness, validity and significance of the ECB’s asset quality review and stress test exercise. In-Depth Analysis, provided at the request of the Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee, European Parliament.

Acharya, V. and S. Steffen (2014). Benchmarking the European Central Bank's Asset Quality Review and Stress Test – A Tale of Two Leverage Ratios. Center of European Policy Studies Working Paper Series.