Plans for a European banking union may address a perceived missing pillar of monetary union, but they are a very long-term project that threaten to cut across other measures to stabilise the system.
Western Europe
Latest articles from Western Europe
London retains asset management star billing
October 1, 2012Ongoing economic and regulatory uncertainty is playing to the advantage of established international financial centres, particularly London, which, despite the recent Libor scandal, has been named the most attractive financial centre in The Banker’s 2012 global asset management survey.
SEPA goes ahead despite technical uncertainties
October 1, 2012A decade-old political vision to create a harmonised payments scheme across Europe is finally nearing its deadline. But the prospect of a Single European Payments Area never seemed so threatened by economic volatility or so opaque in regulatory direction.
Banks wake up to intraday liquidity management challenge
October 1, 2012Market reforms are flooding the financial sector and banks are facing the challenge of managing their liquidity more efficiently. But the industry remains divided on best practice approaches to intraday liquidity management.
UniCredit beats Italy’s sovereign blues
October 1, 2012A covered bond placed with a yield well inside the Italian government provides a reassuring signal that the country’s largest bank by assets, UniCredit, has a viable funding plan to ride out the sovereign crisis.
Asia's financial centres compete for wealth management supremacy
October 1, 2012As the economic scales tip in favour of emerging economies – particularly those in Asia – it seems increasingly likely that one of the region's leading financial centres will steal the status of global wealth management capital from Switzerland. The question is, which city will it be?
Italy's banking leaders see chinks of light amid the gloom
October 1, 2012Italy's banks are struggling. Many are weighed down by bad assets and an oversubscription to government bonds, while those with relatively healthy portfolios are battling against a difficult economy and the series of downgrades that has recently befallen them. Despite this, CEOs at the country's largest institutions remain optimistic.
Established centres keep hold of asset management survey top spots
October 1, 2012With the recent Libor scandal failing to shake asset managers' confidence in London, emerging centres will have to work hard if they are to overtake the UK capital as the world's leading asset management centre.
Morgan Stanley grows into euro debt squeeze
October 1, 2012Heavier capital requirements and tighter funding conditions for European universal banks have increased the importance of debt capital markets rather than bank loans for European companies. Morgan Stanley's co-head of global fixed-income markets is working to make sure the bank can seize the opportunity.
Five a day keeps Barclays bond team healthy
October 1, 2012Windows for bond issuance were fleeting during the second quarter of 2012, but the Barclays public sector team opted to jump in with five tranches of debt on one day.