The European Central Bank (ECB) is currently accepting applications for its Traineeship Programme in Banking Supervision, specifically seeking candidates for the Legal Profile. This is an exceptional opportunity for graduates in Law and Public Administration to join the Single Supervisory Mechanism (SSM) and apply their legal expertise to the stability of the European banking system.

General Information

• Type of contract Traineeship
• Who can apply? EU nationals eligible for our traineeship programme
• Grant The trainee grant is €1,170 per month plus an accommodation allowance (see further information section)
• Working time Full time
• Place of work Frankfurt am Main, Germany
• Closing date 15.12.2025

The team is responsible for supervising the euro area’s largest banks through Joint Supervisory Teams and overseeing the supervision of all other banks by national authorities. Their work encompasses:

• Day-to-Day Supervision: Conducting monitoring and focused on-site inspections across diverse fields such as credit risk, cyber risk, and climate risk.
• Regulatory Decisions: Granting and withdrawing banking authorisations, assessing the suitability of management bodies, and imposing sanctions for breaches of prudential requirements.
• Innovation: Developing supervisory processes and IT systems, including the application of Artificial Intelligence (AI).

Current Recruitment The department is eager to draw on fresh perspectives and is currently looking to fill 100 traineeship positions across various fields through four parallel campaigns.

Key Responsibilities

Selected candidates will gain unique hands-on experience by carrying out day-to-day supervisory activities. Responsibilities include:

• Legal Assessment: Applying legal requirements to practical cases, drafting assessments, and conducting legal research.
• Compliance: Assessing whether banks are complying with supervisory expectations and regulatory requirements.
• Enforcement & Sanctions: Contributing to processes regarding the granting/withdrawal of authorizations, suitability assessments of management bodies, and the imposition of enforcement measures or sanctions.
• Risk Monitoring: Analyzing bank reports to identify undesirable developments and assessing the impact of risk drivers.
• Collaboration: Participating in meetings regarding risks with supervised banks and banking supervisors.

Candidate Profile

Essential Qualifications:

• A Bachelor’s degree (or at least 180 ECTS credits) in Law, Public Administration, Business Administration, European Studies, Banking, or a related field.
• In-depth knowledge of banking, finance, banking supervision, and/or financial regulation (specifically the SSM Regulation, CRR, and CRD).
• Experience in drafting legal assessments and applying provisions to practical cases.
• Language Skills: Advanced (C1) English and Intermediate (B1) command of one other EU official language.

Desired Skills:

• Broad knowledge of risk analysis, supervisory standards, or the implications of digital transformation on the financial sector.
• Project management skills.

Further information

They will be offering traineeships with an initial duration of six months, with a possible extension of up to 12 months in the same or another business area in ECB Banking Supervision.

Other details on the conditions applicable to traineeships at the ECB can be found on their website.

The ECB is an inclusive employer and we strive to reflect the diversity of the population we serve. To achieve a more representative spread of nationalities for these traineeships, they may adjust our initial filtering of applications to bring them more in line with the relative size of the EU population.

Application and selection process

The recruitment process for this position will include a pre-recorded video interview in the pre-selection phase and – if you are invited to participate in the subsequent selection phase – an online interview.

For the ongoing traineeship recruitment in ECB Banking Supervision, we have published four different traineeship campaigns, covering four profiles. We advise you to only apply for the one you consider yourself best suited.

Please include in your application form your proficiency in the skills mentioned above.

Further information on how to apply is available on their website.

If you are not selected for this position but are still considered suitable, you will be placed on a reserve list for 12 months from the closing date for applications, from which you might be considered for other traineeship positions within the ECB.