The 2008 financial crisis may be a topic for the history books, but efforts to prevent a repeat rumble on. Last year saw developments on the leverage ratio, the EU’s putative banking union and the US ban on proprietary trading.

The most significant development in 2014 will be the European Central Bank’s balance sheet audit (or asset quality review) and stress test on eurozone banks. The result will have to strike the right balance – it will have to be tough enough to inspire confidence that the banks are ready for the worst, while avoiding provoking a new funding crisis.

Three countries are worth watching in the AQR – Spain, Italy and France. Spain will hope to come through relatively unscathed. It is less than two years since consultants from Oliver Wyman analysed its banks, and in the intervening period alterations to the way non-performing loans are classified have added more clarity. But the situation is changing. NPLs have continued to rise since the Oliver Wyman exercise, so there could be nasty surprises. Analysts at Deutsche Bank see potential for impaired loans at BBVA to double after the AQR, for example.