The UK's Brexit vote in June came as a blow to most in the EU, but the lack of widespread financial shock in the immediate aftermath of the vote showed how the improvements made to the euro area's post-crisis banking sector are paying off. France's central bank governor looks at why this was the case, but warns there is no room for complacency and calls for further progress on the economic part of the EU’s agenda.
Under new chief executive Philippe Brassac, Crédit Agricole has simplified its oft-criticised group structure and devised a new plan, aimed at strengthening core business lines, improving operational efficiency and transforming its digital offering. Brian Caplen reports on how these changes will affect the bank.
European securities will soon be settled on a central IT platform – Target2 Securities (T2S) – as part of the European Central Bank's initiative to harmonise post-trade standards. With the first wave of implementation scheduled for 2015, Duygu Tavan investigates how the T2S project is progressing and its consequences for the securities industry.
In response to the suggestion – put forward by bankers and central bankers in the UK – that a temporary cut in capital adequacy requirements would stimulate new lending and economic growth, The Banker has simulated how a 1% lower Basel requirement might affect various major world economies.
When the Macquarie and Eiffage consortium, Eiffarie, won a controlling stake in APRR, the highly leveraged French motorway company, Eiffarie knew it needed to gain quick access to the market to refinance APRR's loans. Eiffarie's team established a €6bn euro medium term note programme, and then in mid-November 2011 decided to return to the market with a €500m four-year deal to help repay its outstanding acquisition loan. The result defied even the most optimistic expectations.