Abstract The development of on-site inspections (OSIs) and internal model investigations (IMIs) under the Single Supervisory Mechanism (SSM) reveals how European banking supervision has evolved from a rule-based system to one grounded in professional judgement, operational integration, and forward-looking risk assessment. These missions embody supervisory intrusiveness in practice – they are the physical expression of the SSM’s mandate to assess banks’ governance, risk management and capital adequacy. Yet, they also bring to the fore essential questions of legality, proportionality and due process. This article explores that dynamic, analysing how OSIs and IMIs have matured into a cornerstone of the ECB’s supervisory architecture, and what this evolution means for the balance between discretion and accountability within the SSM.
Pedro Machado (Fri,) studied this question.