Western Europe

Fnality applies for a DLT-based sterling payment system pointing the way to faster and more resilient decentralized financial market infrastructure.

US hedge funds have cleared the way for more activist-style investing in European financial institutions. Now some home-grown activist funds are targeting banks too. They will need to adapt their tactics, but underperforming bank chief executives have another reason to be worried.

A sign of too much risk and exposure in a frothy market or just two banks that didn’t have their risk management in order? Prime brokerage has become a profitable mainstay for several banks but, as Archegos shows us, it punishes the distracted

Raising capital may have been painful, but it is the sensible thing to do. There were bigger surprises when the bank announced first-quarter results.

European football is hardly a model of sustainability at the best of times, but JPMorgan is to be commended for its noble attempt to make it even worse.

Banks are refining their sustainable cash-management offerings, seeking to align their corporate sustainability strategies to financing and treasury actions.

The US investment bank sidesteps an avoidable reputational own goal as a planned football European Super League collapses.

The European Commission unveils details of its €800 billion NextGenerationEU funding programme, following the playbook of sovereign debt managers.

In just a few days, Deliveroo’s IPO went from having a book that was oversubscribed at the top of the price range to pricing at the bottom and then collapsing in the aftermarket. What went wrong and does it mean anything for other London listing candidates?

The maverick activist is blazing a trail by targeting a big southern European bank – and is warning against the risks of a deal between UniCredit and Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena.

The storms buffeting Credit Suisse represent big trouble for the Swiss bank. Its new chairman may install a new CEO and set a new strategic course, but with big European banks gearing up for consolidation, Credit Suisse just put itself on the block.

As US Spac deals start to slow after an extraordinary first quarter, any new growth must come from outside the US

In executing what may be the biggest European corporate Sofr-linked swap yet, BMW has shown what well-prepared company treasuries and their advisory banks can achieve as the sun sets on Libor.

Analysts are positive about sterling’s prospects over the next few months, figuring that monetary policy flexibility and attractive UK equity prices will outweigh any downward pressure from the European Union – whether trade or coronavirus-related.

Deals such as this leave deeper problems unsolved at Societe Generale and similar banks.

Unlisted banks, especially cooperatives, face less pressure to shrink as a result of low returns. They are gaining market share – but falling behind in digitalization.

The EU will soon have to start funding a €750 billion recovery programme as rates rise and bond markets sell off. Short-dated EU-bills must carry more of the borrowing burden. That requires auctions and a new system of primary dealers.

With monetary union off the table, a national break-up could make Brexit seem like a skirmish.

António Horta-Osório makes no apology for the unbridled optimism that has defined his 10 years running Lloyds Banking Group. Critics say he leaves it over-exposed to Brexit and dwindling interest margins. But, as he prepares to move to Switzerland to become chairman of Credit Suisse, Horta-Osório tells Euromoney that Lloyds’ greatest days could still be ahead of it.

While a bid still remains for duration, the EU could achieve much for member states through more flexible borrowing in short-dated instruments.

In buying out its Exane equities joint venture partner, BNP Paribas reckons it can make a success of a business where few European peers have thrived. It also hopes to see a halo effect on underperforming franchises like ECM.

The former Commerzbank chief executive and co-head of wealth management at UBS heads a strong team to help company founders with running a public company.

The food delivery firm is redefining order flow.

Less charismatic chief executives will serve Europe’s banks well in the 2020s – unless it simply means that more power will reside with their chairmen.

UBS has applied to buy out two minority investors in its China joint venture, boosting its stake in Beijing-based UBS Securities to 67%. The bank’s strong and long-standing relationship with the owner of the other 33%, a division of Beijing local government, is a timely reminder that there is no one right model for success in China.

The data-cloud company has laid down an intriguing marker for its peers

Deliveroo’s pending stock sale gives London a much-needed financial boost, but the global IPO market is becoming a straight fight between China and the US.

Jonathan Hill’s recommendations for UK listing reforms have dug deep into areas at the forefront of capital markets debate in 2021. Here we assess what he has to say.

In making his long-awaited recommendations on how to improve London’s standing as a venue for raising capital, Jonathan Hill faced the challenge of how to reform while not racing to the bottom.

Jean Pierre Mustier has spoken candidly with Euromoney throughout his five years of running UniCredit. Here is the inside story of how the first foreign chief executive of Italy’s international banking champion came close to continental leadership but left in acrimony – after clashing with the country’s financial establishment and with chairman-elect Pier Carlo Padoan.