A new CEPR report, Bailing out the Banks: Reconciling Stability and Competition, assesses two related aspects of the policy response to the unprecedented financial crisis, competition policy and financial regulation. It addresses both the effectiveness of the response to the current crisis, and the lessons that can be drawn in order to reduce the likelihood of future crises. Critical among the report's series of recommendations for regulatory reform, with regard to both financial stability and competition implications, is the call for a strengthening of competences at the European level, beyond coordination mechanisms.Presented by Thorsten Beck, CentER and EBC, Tilburg University and CEPRMathias Dewatripont, ECARES, Université Libre de Bruxelles and CEPR