Euro area systemic stress has remained relatively low over the past six months, despite bouts of market turbulence. Since mid-2013, both the volatility and the level of the euro area composite indicator of systemic stress have gradually edged upwards.

The ratcheting-up of this indicator has been associated with a range of local and global stress events and has continued over the past six months. Factors that pushed it up include higher political uncertainty following the outcomes of the UK referendum on EU membership and the US election as well as market concerns about euro area banks' longer-term profitability prospects.

At the same time, continued accommodative monetary policy in advanced economies and abating market concerns about the possibility of a sharp slowdown in China have dampened spikes in systemic stress. All in all, despite relatively volatile global financial markets, bank and sovereign systemic stress indicators for the euro area have remained fairly stable at low levels