Motivated by the unprecedented high levels of recent economic policy uncertainty in Europe and the globe, this paper examines the relationship between economic policy uncertainty and bank stability, as well as the conditioning effects of bank regulation and supervision on this relationship. Using a sample of more than 950 commercial banks in eight major European countries over the period 2005–2020, economic policy uncertainty has been consistently linked to a sharp decrease in bank stability, once other traditional drivers are controlled for. More importantly, this paper offers important insights into how strengthening bank regulation and supervision, particularly regulations on activity restrictions, capital stringency, official supervisory power, and private monitoring, cushions the adverse effects of policy uncertainty on bank stability.

受欧洲和全球近期经济政策不确定性空前高涨的推动，本文研究了经济政策不确定性与银行稳定性之间的关系，以及银行监管对这种关系的调节作用。使用 2005 年至 2020 年期间八个欧洲主要国家的 950 多家商业银行的样本，一旦其他传统驱动因素得到控制，经济政策的不确定性一直与银行稳定性的急剧下降有关。更重要的是，本文提供了关于加强银行监管和监督，特别是有关活动限制、资本严格、官方监管权力和私人监督的监管如何缓解政策不确定性对银行稳定性的不利影响的重要见解。