The primary purpose of the legal framework for credit institutions should be to ensure the operation of vital services to the real economy while limiting the risk of moral hazard. The structural separation of retail and investment banking activities within a banking group could be one of the key tools to support this objective. No provision in the current regulatory framework should therefore prevent the introduction of measures to effect such a separation. The Commission should be required to analyse the issue of structural separation in the Union and submit a report, together with legislative proposals, if appropriate, to the European Parliament and the Council.