This week's view from Europe, courtesy of Edith Rigler :
Towards a banking union – European Commission, 10 September 2012
In a press release issued today,
the Commission sets out the reasons for establishing a banking union across the
EU. On 12 September, it will present a regulation establishing an ambitious
single supervision mechanism for banks in the Euro area. The Commission expects
these proposals to be adopted by the end of 2012, in order for the new system
to enter into force early in 2013.
Making financial centres contribute to the
wider economy – speech by Michel
Barnier, 6 September 2012
In this recent speech in
Brussels, Internal Markets Commissioner
Michel Barnier lists three issues that will need to be dealt with urgently in
the next few months: (1) the European banking union, (2) the
structure of the EU's banking sector, and (3)
shadow banking.
Euro area GDP down by 0.2% and EU27 GDP down by 0.1% - EuroStat, 6 September 2012
The most recent figures on GDP
growth show a decrease for the Eurozone by 0.2% and 0.1% for the EU 27. Among the countries with positive growth are
Sweden (+1.4%), Norway (+1.2%) and Germany (+0.5%). GDP in the UK decreased by
0.5 %.
No agreement between Deutsche and regulators for Deutsche
around LIBOR scandal – Handelsblatt,
10 September 2012
An agreement between Deutsche and
US and UK regulators is unlikely during the course of 2012. The scandal around the
manipulation of LIBOR will not be as swiftly negotiated as with Barclays and
RBS. A total of 16 banks are implicated in the scandal.
Customer pays more for account and credit services than
before the crisis –
Handelsblatt, 5 September 2012
A study by FMH-Finanzberatung
reveals that since the Lehman crash in September 2008 every third bank in
Germany has increased its fees for account and credit card services. A total 0f
70 banks were analysed. Not one lowered its prices since the beginning of the
financial crisis. Still, retail customers are surprisingly reluctant to change
banks.
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...