Western Europe

A trend that was already under way is set to accelerate as companies realise the importance of better oversight of day-to-day financials.

Italy’s anti-trust authority could yet side with those who argue UBI Banca will serve Italy’s banking system better by doing acquisitions of its own.

The European Central Bank's purchase of more than €35 billion of commercial paper since late March shows just how rocky the early stages of the Covid-19 crisis were for short-term funding.

Capital markets volumes show how well the industry has adapted since the coronavirus crisis began, but as economies emerge from lockdown, bankers and clients need to look much further ahead.

Banks have to prepare for crises; if investors won’t make companies do the same, should someone else?

FX trading algorithms are getting smarter at dealing with crises – and getting more popular as a result.

Virtual meetings have afforded women greater visibility during the Covid-19 crisis, but little to nothing has happened. Will things finally start to change in the financial sector?

The May IPO of video conferencing platform Pexip was an all-round virtual success.

Will it be back to business as usual as soon as lockdown restrictions are lifted?

Fears that the Covid-19 virus might live on banknotes and coins has focused public attention on once esoteric experiments with central bank digital currency. The virus has also exposed the slow pace of emergency government support payments through the conventional banking system, so what once sounded futuristic may be coming soon. CBDC just got real.

After a slow start, the processing of CBILS loans has picked up. Now finally accredited, the specialist SME lender says much more needs to be done.

Central bank intervention has delayed the deluge of insolvency that Covid-19 lockdowns will cause, but it can only plug the dike for so long. Lenders face the grim prospect of deciding who to save and who to let go.

The UK’s Financial Conduct Authority may struggle to show anything explicitly wrong in the awarding of recent equity mandates.

UK banks’ returns on equity will still be below pre-virus levels in 2025, while CET1 ratios across Europe could fall to 8%.

Europe’s online-only challenger banks are still losing money, despite millions of retail clients in their home continent.

The digital bank struggled to make an impact in a fiercely competitive field.

Lessors and bondholders had little choice but to keep Norwegian Air alive, but bigger losses will come as the industry gets used to its new normal.

The German constitutional court wants limits on ECB sovereign bond buying when the real question is whether it can do enough to stave off sovereign defaults.

Banca d’Italia plays a key role behind the scenes in embedding distributed ledger at the core of the country’s banking system.

Trade bodies, such as the Association of Independent Music, are taking it upon themselves to help the most affected in their industry during the coronavirus lockdown, turning to fintech solutions to do so.

Former investment bank head Tim ‘Danger’ Throsby sadly isn’t at the firm to see the team he built deliver in a crisis.

Liquidity data from CLS has revealed unusual trading activity around the 4pm London fix – but it has more to do with corporate inertia than market manipulation.

Revolvers could be the debt Achilles heel of cash-strapped corporates.

The coronavirus crisis has hit Europe so hard and so suddenly that banks have to radically rethink their normal approaches to dealing with a crisis.

Banks need to play their part in rescues without putting all the burden on shareholder funds, says Santander’s group executive chairman.

UK banks have faced a torrent of criticism for slow delivery of the coronavirus business interruption loan scheme, but the real problem is that the UK is providing loans that need to be repaid. Grants offered by governments such as Germany look better designed.

With consumers and businesses demanding instant access to Covid-19 support financing, the RBI chief executive warns of a backlash against banks.

Entering a potential credit crisis, when they are still battling an old one, leaves Italy’s banks exposed. That means strong government backing is more important than ever.

French banks are handing out more state-guaranteed loans than other country in Europe, but they have more to worry about than small businesses in France.

The biggest challenge in German banking has suddenly gone from job cuts to handing out state-guaranteed loans as quickly as possible.