EU Banking Debate Shifts to Euro Area After Accord on Spain

The European Union’s push to unify bank oversight moved to the euro area after two days of talks in Brussels, putting the European Central Bank at the center of Spain’s efforts to extract its government from its banking-industry rescue.

Euro-area leaders asked for proposals this year to unify banking supervision and soup up the ECB’s powers. They referred to a clause in the EU treaty that allows them to give the ECB prudential oversight of banks and other non-insurance financial companies.