Western Europe

UK regulators have pushed big banks to establish an innovative form of payment that could leave fintechs and neobanks struggling to catch up.

The European Central Bank has gone out of its way to encourage cross-border mergers that might strengthen the single market in banking. Supervisory board member Edouard Fernandez-Bollo tells Euromoney that this could include mergers between large institutions.

While Germany fires up its coal-burning power stations once more, it’s almost as if the country itself is protesting.

If Russia stops the gas this winter, the damage to European banks will be worse than Covid, and Germany will be at the centre of the storm.

HSBC’s interim result shows that banks are drawing a line under pandemic-related provisions, while simultaneously setting aside new ones for the disease’s economic cure. All banks must make this transition, but HSBC has other things to worry about besides: a campaign from China’s Ping An to split the bank in half.

With UK policymakers trapped between reducing inflation and boosting the flagging economy, analysts are struggling to see any upside for sterling.

A new chairman and chief executive at the Swiss bank once again struggle with how to build an investment bank for tomorrow from one that is floundering badly today.

Corporate bond deals in euros are now a rarity as issuers and investors struggle to judge the new price of credit.

While ING is paring back the retail-banking ambitions held dear by former CEO Ralph Hamers, sustainable finance is helping the wholesale bank become a growth engine for the group.

Markets welcome surprise 50bp hike but question new bond-buying programme and ECB’s capacity to judge spread widening as unwarranted.

Raffael Gasser is a hybrid: part Zurich wealth manager, part Silicon Valley disruptor. He was tasked with crunching data to serve ‘classic’ PB customers who sit just below the ultra-wealthy segment and are often, curiously, overlooked. Here is how he got on.

Supply-chain disruption has driven up corporate stock holdings. Firms may move excess inventory off balance sheet.

The International Chamber of Commerce is confident the UK Centre for Digital Trade & Innovation will spur standards.

Banks want to capitalize on the surge in green capex borrowing as corporates rush to decarbonize. Cost inflation has increased the risks involved but not the long-term benefit of carbon reduction.

Private companies are doing everything they can to avoid down rounds, raising new equity at lower valuations than past deals, but can’t hold the line for much longer.

As investors and dealers struggle with inflation levels not seen for 40 years, the only good news is that markets are still functioning… for now.

Stress tests mean that banks must assess their own climate impact. The glaring data gaps will close as the science progresses and methodologies evolve.

Spikes in shipping prices have hit mid- and lower-tier commodity trading companies at a time of bank caution.

Rising interest margins help Spain’s biggest domestic bank more than most, but intense competition in mortgages means that fee-earning products are still vital.

FX analysts have diverging views on the prospects for the euro over the coming months, after a bank research warning.

European corporates saw losses from currency volatility fall late last year, so hedging has stayed largely unchanged.

Bernd Spalt’s rift with his board shows Austria’s biggest bank is still finding its way in the post-Treichl era, even as it outperforms peers.

Artificial intelligence has revolutionized cash-flow forecasting at educational services provider Pearson.

The UK Electronic Trade Documents Bill is expected to greatly improve access to trade finance, particularly for contracts that use English law.

Bank privatizations are never simple, but the outcry that has erupted in Iceland over a recent sale of Íslandsbanki shares looks set to halt the programme in its tracks – despite the overwhelming success of the bank’s landmark IPO in 2021. With state holding company ISFI now under threat of being closed down, its head takes Euromoney through the drama of the last 12 months.

As their involvement in fintech matures, large banks are focusing on building standalone digital businesses rather than just taking stakes in third-party startups through venture capital funds and accelerators. Can these new in-house ventures disprove the thesis that incumbent banks can’t create disruptive business models?

The first three months of the year have been tough for many investment banking business lines, but Europe’s banks are putting up a good fight against the might of the US firms.

Payment service providers have welcomed the UK Payment Systems Regulator’s plan to promote account-to-account payments, but much needs to be done to boost take-up.

The global cryptocurrency platform is sponsoring the relaunch of a 122-year-old live music venue in London.

The Swiss bank is still paying for its misdeeds, but this might be a taste of what’s to come for others.