Measuring the Shadow banking in the Euro Area: What does the ECB know?

Working on the online statistical data warehouse of the ECB, we estimate the size of the shadow banking sector (SBS) in the Euro area, referring to several estimates – credit provided, total assets – based on our definition. We find that the credit provided by the SBS amounts to one fifth of the total credit supplied in the Euro area. We describe the balance sheet of the main actors and also provide an assessment for the risk of bank run in the European SBS and the risk of contagion between the SBS and the traditional banking sector (TBS).