(Reuters) In the beginning, the European Union came up with two words: Banking Union. It sounded simple, solid, united, dependable.
But in the 18 months since the idea was put on paper, the phrase has come to mask a vastly complicated and not yet very united system that may fall short of resolving the problems afflicting Europe's banks over the past five years.
From a Single Supervisory Mechanism to a Single Resolution Mechanism, incorporating a split-level authority and a Single Resolution Fund, Europe's banking union has become a multi-headed hydra offering little clarity on when or how quickly a bank's problems can be sorted out.
Aside from the plethora of acronyms - SSM, SRM, SRF, BRRD - that litter the snowstorm of documents produced to discuss the concept, it is still not absolutely clear which banks will be overseen by which authority and who has the final (the final, final) say in deciding if a bank has to be wound up.
As one exasperated U.S. diplomat put it after the last round of late-night negotiations over the scheme: "You try and explain that to the U.S. Treasury."
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