It’s official now! For all you football enthusiasts, it’s time to gear up and watch the final of the Euro Cup 2012 between Italy and Spain this weekend. It’s quite ironic that both the teams having started from the same group will meet each other in the ultimate showdown. Having dominated the football pitch, the countries have other serious matter to cater upon at the moment-on the financial field.

Euro zone leaders agreed to take immediate action to bring down Italy’s and Spain’s increasing borrowing costs and to create a single supervisory body for euro zone banks by the end of this year. This, by many, is seen as a first step towards a European banking union. In response to the pleas from Spanish and Italian leaders, a midnight summit of the 17-nation currency area agreed that euro area rescue funds could be used to stabilize bond markets without forcing countries that comply with EU budget rules to adopt extra economic reforms.

After hours of negotiation, they also agreed that the bloc’s future permanent bailout fund, the European Stability Mechanism, would be able to lend directly to recapitalize banks without increasing a country’s budget deficit, and without preferential seniority status.

Countries that requested bond support from the rescue fund would have to sign a memorandum of understanding setting out their existing policy commitments and agreeing a timetable. But they would not face the intrusive oversight of a "troika" of international lenders to which Greece, Ireland and Portugal have been subjected.

Spain and Italy had earlier withheld their agreement to a growth package at a European Union summit to demand emergency action to bring down their increasing borrowing costs, which threaten to force the third and fourth largest economies in the euro zone out of the capital markets.

European Council chairman Herman Van Rompuy said the aim was to create a supervisory mechanism for euro zone banks involving the European Central Bank to break the "vicious circle" of dependence between banks and sovereign governments.

So, Italy & Spain will provide the ultimate showdown to compete for the winners of the Euro Cup 2012. However, behind all the drama on the football field, there will be other matters off it that will require collective wisdom to solve the impending crisis staring at their faces.