She said she hoped regulation around the single resolution mechanism (SRM) - a euro zone authority with its own fund that would decide how to wind down or restructure banks that are no longer viable - would be finalised in April as planned.

"Furthermore I hope that we do not have to wait until 2018 for the SRM regulation to come into force, but rather that this happens much earlier so that European resolution can complement European supervision as soon as possible," said Lautenschlaeger, the Bundesbank's vice president.

In November the European Central Bank said it was in favour of bringing forward the start date of the bail-in tool to before 2018.

Banking supervision will be centralised under the ECB's roof from November 2014 as the first part of a plan for European banking union aimed at preventing financial crises.

Lautenschlaeger is the only candidate to succeed Germany's Joerg Asmussen, who left the ECB two years into his eight-year term to rejoin the German government as state secretary in the labour ministry.

(Reporting by Michelle Martin; Editing by Mike Collett-White)