The purpose of macroprudential policy is to promote the financial system’s resilience in absorbing risks, ensuring adequate levels of financial intermediation and thus contributing to sustainable economic growth. As national macroprudential authority, Banco de Portugal defines and executes macroprudential policy. 

Banco de Portugal regularly analyses the financial system so as to identify vulnerabilities, and existing and potential risks, under both baseline and adverse scenarios, i.e. it identifies, monitors and assesses systemic risks. Based on an analysis of risks and vulnerabilities, Banco de Portugal considers the implementation of policy measures that minimise the probability that such risks will materialise or that promote the institutions’ ability to address them. 

To implement macroprudential policy measures, Banco de Portugal develops and implements macroprudential instruments and issues orders, warnings and recommendations to public or private entities and authorities, as part of its cooperation with these entities. Banco de Portugal also participates in the European system for the prevention and mitigation of risks to financial stability and in other bodies pursuing the same goal.

The activation and deactivation of existing macroprudential instruments under the European Union legal framework requires coordination at EU level; such coordination is ensured by a number of authorities, namely the European Systemic Risk Board (ESRB), the European Banking Authority (EBA), the European Commission and, within the scope of the Single Supervisory Mechanism (SSM), the European Central Bank (ECB) when performing its macroprudential tasks.