Western Europe

NEWSMAKERS: SPAIN   By Anita Hawser   Spanish prime minister Mariano Rajoy is probably glad he is not running for office at present.   Tough task to sort out Spanish banks Photo Credit : MATTHI/ Shutterstock.com Having swept to power in elections ...

MILESTONES: DENMARK   By Gordon Platt   Moody’s Investors Service says something is rotten in Denmark’s mortgage industry. The country’s banks are still issuing interest-only loans, years after the real-estate bubble burst.   Copenhagen still home to interest-free mortgages Meanwhile, Denmark’s household ...

MILESTONES: SPAIN   By Vanessa Drucker   The merger agreement between CaixaBank and Banca Civica smacks of a shotgun wedding—for Civica, anyhow.   Spanish banks forced to tie the knot by capital requirements CaixaBank, Spain’s largest bank by retail branches, is ...

NEWSMAKERS: NORWAY   By Luca Ventura   A former bank teller, Norway’s finance minister Sigbjørn Johnsen is not too concerned about upsetting some of his erstwhile bank employers.     Johnsen takes on Norway’s banks again Photo Credit : REUTERS/SCANPIX “It ...

By Thomas Clouse, Jonathan Gregson, Antonio Guerrero & Gordon Platt EUROPE Europe’s banks are being pulled in two directions. Governments want them to lend more, especially to small- and medium-size enterprises, while European and national regulators require them to strengthen their ...

MILESTONES: EUROPE   By Anita Hawser   It has been almost three years in the making and encapsulates European regulators’ response to the collapse of Lehman Brothers and the implosion of the collateralized debt obligation market following the subprime crisis in ...

BINDING COMMITMENT   By Anita Hawser   The EC has finally announced a legally binding end-date for SEPA migration. Now companies and their banks must get serious about migrating.   During a recent visit to her firm's Canary Wharf offices, ...

CORPORATE FINANCING NEWS: FOREIGN EXCHANGE   By Gordon Platt   The foreign exchange market continues to be rattled by Europe's debt crisis, analysts say the issue is far from settled.   The foreign exchange market continues to be rattled by ...

NEWSMAKERS: ICELAND   By Luca Ventura   As his trial commenced in March in Reykjavik, Geir Haarde, the former prime minister of Iceland, was the first world leader to face criminal charges over the 2008 financial crisis. Haarde, 60, could serve up ...

COMPETITION, REGULATION AND TECHNOLOGY   Moderated By Joseph D. Giarraputo   At a roundtable in London, Global Finance brought together key figures in the subcustody industry to discuss how they are responding to the many challenges posed by the eurozone ...

NEWSMAKERS: EUROPE   By Valentina Pasquali   In the European Union, women comprise 60% of university graduates but only about 12% of corporate board members.   Reding: Tackling red-hot issues such as gender parity The European Commission has decided to take action ...

Global Finance Announces the Best Banks by Region 2012 NEW YORK, March 20, 2012 – Global Finance magazine has announced its annual awards for the World's Best Banks in Developed and Emerging Markets. The list of regional winners is on ...

NEWSMAKERS: ITALY   By Laurence Neville   While many big wigs in the world of finance hit the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland in late January to rub shoulders with glamorous attendees from business, politics and showbiz—this year led ...

PLUGGING THE HOLE   By Vanessa Drucker   Although rival political parties in the UK agree on the need for austerity, debate rages on over the timeline and severity.   There is little controversy among politicians or economists in the UK ...

Global Finance announces a half-yearly update World’s 50 Safest Banks: April 2012 NEW YORK, March 1, 2012 – Bank stability is an ever-more pressing concern for the world’s corporations and investors. It is within this context that Global Finance announces ...

Global Finance names the Safest Banks In Western Europe: April 2012 NEW YORK, March 1, 2012 — Global Finance magazine ( GFmag.com ) has named the top 10 “Safest Banks in Western Europe: April 2012” in an exclusive survey to ...

NEWSMAKERS: SWITZERLAND   By Valentina Pasquali   In the midst of Europe's sovereign debt crisis, a scandal hit the beleaguered continent's financial system in January.   Hildebrand forced out of Swiss Central Bank role The head of Switzerland's central bank, ...

AFTER THE TURMOIL: WHAT COMES NEXT?   By Jonathan Gregson, Justin Keay and Vanessa Drucker   How the European Union will look in 2020 is unclear. Whether it will see tighter union, a tiered eurozone, or will cease to exist ...

NEWSMAKERS: ITALY   By Paula Green   Ready or not, as minister of economic development, infrastructure and transport for the newly-formed government of prime minister Mario Monti, Italian banker-turned-bureaucrat Corrado Passera will be honing his political skills this year.   ...

MILESTONES: US/GERMANY   By Gordon Platt   Facing a $4 billion breakup fee, AT&T is working hard to make its proposed merger with T-Mobile a reality, despite regulatory stumbling blocks.   Deal to create the largest US wireless carrier is in ...