Western Europe

Spanish-based group will struggle to overcome fall-out of recruitment U-turn, while Orcel’s situation raises broader questions for banks’ hiring and compensation strategies.

Banco Santander’s board has botched the appointment of the bank's next CEO in the clumsiest way possible.

The regulator's conclusions could be announced within the next two weeks.

Aggressive accounting is as old as balance sheets, so why are we always surprised when inaccurate or bad-faith accounting causes companies to falter or even fail? Why is the dark side of accounting so hard to illuminate?

Bullish chief executive is still struggling to convince the markets that his plan will work in the long term

It’s growing in areas such as equity derivatives, Africa and digital banking. But is this enough to make up for the poor performance in French retail banking?

After a good result in its core areas, Barclays is setting its sights firmly on a better future for its investment bank in Europe.

The culture is changed and numbers are solid, but return on equity isn’t going to budge without progress on costs.

Investors will be watching closely for indications of what Andrea Orcel will do as chief executive.

New investigations into the troubled bank evoke bad memories.

New chief executive John Flint has bought himself some breathing room to deliver the bank’s return-to-growth mode

With conditions far from helpful, the French bank has a lot riding on initiatives designed to grow its corporate and institutional bank

The bank is delivering a strategy for the post-crisis world. So why aren’t investors giving it more credit?

As Carlos Torres Vila and Onur Genc take over, BBVA’s markets may still surprise more than its strategy.

The political tune of 2018 was not to UniCredit’s taste. Chief executive Jean Pierre Mustier needs a different rhythm to bring back the party spirit.

Any bank with a gross NPL ratio of 27.5% has a problem – Italy’s Banca Carige can’t avoid insolvency unless it comes up with a radical solution, fast.

To bring about fundamental change and to find long-lasting solutions, isn’t always pretty and it is certainly not always a win-win in the financial sense.

The successor to Mario Draghi as president of the European Central Bank (ECB) may provide more support than expected to corporate credit markets if borrowing conditions deteriorate.

As Mario Draghi begins his victory lap before stepping down as president of the ECB in October 2019 and his colleagues get down to the serious business of competing for the succession, they will no doubt give thanks that they do not face trial by Twitter in the same way as Federal Reserve chairman Jay Powell.

Resignations of directors after shareholders failed to approve a capital increase prompt an early intervention

UK corporate broking is the business that won’t die. There is no requirement for it outside the smallest listed firms, and corporates the world over manage without it. Yet UK companies almost always want the reassurance it provides. Is it finally under threat?

European capital markets bankers’ fortunes in 2019 will turn on how quickly the withdrawal of the central bank bid can be offset by the return of a real market.

By under-investing the vast funds raised at big expense to their end clients and then delivering shrinking returns, private equity sponsors are prompting customers to demand new approaches.

Investors continue to shy away from currency-hedged ETFs despite their positive short- and medium-term performance.

Judge throws out claim in English court; lender on track for first full-year profit since nationalization.

Frequent issuers on both sides of the Atlantic are exploring new ways to concentrate their high-quality liabilities into fewer more-liquid bonds to avoid paying a premium as markets sell off.

Financial Conduct Authority lady sings the blues as RBS's GRG reality revealed.

Chance of Société Générale merger remote, but bigger European banks to emerge in ‘medium term’.

The damage done to mid-cap equities coverage by unbundling research is ever harder to ignore. It will not be easy to lower this self-imposed barrier to improved capital-markets access for fast-growing businesses in Europe.

The utility’s sustainability performance will partly determine the cost of servicing its new bank credit line, with any savings going to charity.