Tag: Banks

Restoring trust in banking depends on policymakers to establish a stable and sustainable new regulatory framework and by bankers themselves to address flawed past governance and management practices, writes Simon Lewis, CEO of the London-based association for financial markets in Europe (AFME).

While financial services and banking firms are increasingly looking to cloud computing services to enhance their businesses, actual take-up is being hampered by legal uncertainties and conflict between the EU and the US over data privacy.

Up to one in six European banks is set to fail an EU-wide financial health check, according to eurozone sources close to the stress testing, as officials scramble to set up backstops for those at risk.

There are no discussions about more countries seeking EU financial aid following Ireland's request for help, the European Commission said yesterday (25 November), following reports that Portugal was under pressure to seek aid.

European Union officials have agreed the key criteria of stress tests for the bloc's banks, including the minimum level of capital, EU sources said on Friday (16 July), as senior policymakers voiced optimism on the results.

European policymakers have no one to blame but themselves for the current depression in financial markets, argues Daniel Gros, director of the Centre for European Policy Studies.

The European Commission is considering the establishment of a European emergency fund paid for by the financial sector to rescue failing banks and fend off future crises, EU Internal Market Commissioner Michel Barnier said on Friday (19 March).

The commissioner-designate for competition, Joaquin Almunia, will not ease the EU's stance towards banks which received state aid during the financial crisis. Credit institutions will have to reimburse the aid by the end of 2010 and cannot use this financial support to increase bonuses, Almunia made clear during his hearing in front of the European Parliament.

An EU crackdown on banks too big to fail appears to have begun with ING having to sell its insurance and investment management business, as demanded by the European Commission.

Although the crash of the subprime market is widely seen as the catalyst of the recession that took the world by surprise in September 2007, the European Commission will take stock of a new school of thought which argues that the dominance of external ownership in financial services ultimately caused the crisis.

European lawmakers must be mindful of future regulation in the financial sector as it is likely to impact upon companies' access to finance, warned EU employers' lobby group BusinessEurope in an interview with EurActiv.

UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown yesterday (3 September) joined German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy in saying they will not back down on reining in the financial sector, and called for "binding rules" on bankers' bonuses.

As support grows in the US for outright nationalisation of weak banks and insurance firms, the European Commission will today (25 February) suggest that governments should be able to take control of banks as a last resort to prevent the collapse of key financial institutions, provided that rescued banks fully clarify their exposure to toxic and impaired assets.

A surprise cut in interest rates by the European Central Bank (ECB) came as a sign that recession fears have overtaken those concerning inflation, as European financial markets yesterday continued to tailspin despite government attempts to prop them up.

The leaders of France, Germany, Britain and Italy are due to meet in Paris on Saturday to forge a common EU response to the financial crisis after the uproar triggered by suggestions to create a US-style fund to save ailing European banks.

Some large European financial institutions will have difficulty filling positions crucial to the execution of their evolving strategies within the next five years, according to research published in the McKinsey Quarterly in July.

Amid fears of an epidemic of protectionism sweeping Europe, competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes has given national governments a strong warning against undue interference in cross-border mergers.

Commissioner Charlie McCreevy has presented European finance ministers with evidence of significant hurdles to banking mergers within the EU. 

Internal Market Commissioner Charlie McCreevy has written to the Governor of the Bank of Italy, Antonio Fazio, expressing his unease at reports that foreign banks were to be limited to a 15% stake in any merger with an Italian bank.

The Commission gave a green light on 10 August to the compatibility with competition rules of certain provisions in the VISA card scheme. After an initial objection by the Commission, the favourable view follows studies on the effects of the abolition of the non-discrimination rule.

The Commission proposed new legislation on cross-border euro transactions between banks on Wednesday 25 July. The proposal for a regulation will forbid banks to charge more for cross-border euro transfers than for domestic transactions.

New Commission study shows that despite repeated appeals from the Commission, bank charges for cross-border payments have generally increased since 1999

The Commission has sent warnings to banks in 4 EU countries that it might take action for breach of competition rules.