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Things worth reading, the European view

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Financial Services Club member and good colleague Edith Rigler has started to look for key headline grabbing views from the German / European media that is aligned with the Financial Services Club's common themes of future banking, regulation, the Eurozone, payments, investment markets, retail banking and future technologies.

In the first of her regular submissions, here are the key headlines for the first two weeks of March:

'Historic Opportunity': Greece Pulls Off Debt Restructuring Deal – Spiegel, 12 March 2012

http://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/0,1518,820343,00

Last Friday, Greece averted default after a large majority of private creditors agreed to the country's historic debt haircut. The deal paves the way for a second EU bailout package to be disbursed to Athens. The country says it may now move to force creditors who are not participating to swap their bonds.

Euro Crisis Crucible: Rift Grows Between Germany's Bundesbank and ECB Spiegel, 12 March 2012

http://www.spiegel.de/international/search/index?suchbegriff=Deutsche+Bank&suchzeitraum=week&fromDate=03%2F05%2F2012 

There are growing divisions among European Central Bank leadership about how to handle the euro crisis, not to mention between the ECB and the Bundesbank, Germany's central bank. While ECB head Mario Draghi is pleased with his recent decision to flood the markets with cheap money, Bundesbank President Jens Weidmann warns of the dangers.

Are banks hoarding 777 billion euro at the European Central Bank? – Handelsblatt,  5 March 2012

http://www.handelsblatt.com/politik/konjunktur/geldpolitik/stimmt-es-dass-horten-die-banken-777-milliarden-euro-bei-der-ezb/6289346

Is it true that banks are parking funds at the ECB rather than lending to other banks? Is this an unmistakable sign of mistrust among Europe´s banks? These were recent headlines in European media. While this may sound plausible, it is incorrect, says the German daily  Handelsblatt and provides examples .

Portugal´s stony path – Wirtschaftswoche, 12 March 2012

http://www.wiwo.de/politik/europa/eurokrise-portugals-steiniger-weg/6306014

Increasing exports and a decreasing deficit provide hope for Portugal.  But the country still needs support. It suffers from a lack of competitive enterprises, from 14% unemployment , a lack of skilled resources. Its public sector needs to be restructured and partly privatised, banks need to improve their loan/deposit ratio. Whether economic  growth will be realised in 2013 is doubtful. The troika is considering  a second support package.

Deutsche Bank in upheavalSpiegel, 12 March 2012

http://www.spiegel.de/thema/deutsche_bank/

Banking giant Deutsche Bank is preparing itself for the time when Josef Ackermann hands over the management of the bank in the spring.  The recent leaks around the restructuring of the bank´s Board by the leadership duo Anshu Jain and Juergen Fitschen have led to criticism and calls for “explanations”.  The new management team will be enlarged, some members of the Board will leave the bank, new board members will join. The Board as a whole will be younger and more international. Questions as to the right balance between investment banking and commercial banking have been raised.

 

 

 

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Chris M Skinner

Chris Skinner is best known as an independent commentator on the financial markets through his blog, TheFinanser.com, as author of the bestselling book Digital Bank, and Chair of the European networking forum the Financial Services Club. He has been voted one of the most influential people in banking by The Financial Brand (as well as one of the best blogs), a FinTech Titan (Next Bank), one of the Fintech Leaders you need to follow (City AM, Deluxe and Jax Finance), as well as one of the Top 40 most influential people in financial technology by the Wall Street Journal's Financial News. To learn more click here...

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