Regulation

Today's the day when the European Commission draws the line with their member states, particularly the UK and Germany, over bank bailouts.  Neelie Kroes, the Commissioner responsible for EU competition, presented plans which will force governments to restructure banks which have received government subsidies to an appropriate size, whereby they compete and are subject to…

End users of payment systems in Europe released a report today airing their concerns that the Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA) Direct Debit (SDD) to be launched on November 2nd will prove unpopular unless steps are taken to reflect users' needs. The concerns are based around companies having to make arrangements to access the SDD…

For years, the Financial Services Authority (FSA) has been lauded and applauded by Europeans and Americans as a model of supervisory structures.  After the collapse of Northern Rock and the huge liquidity risk exposures demonstrated by Royal Bank of Scotland and HBOS, the institution became tarnished and is now viewed by many as a failed…

For years, the Financial Services Authority (FSA) has been lauded and applauded by Europeans and Americans as a model of supervisory structures.  After the collapse of Northern Rock and the huge liquidity risk exposures demonstrated by Royal Bank of Scotland and HBOS, the institution became tarnished and is now viewed by many as a failed…

Interesting announcement from Zopa Italy: “On 10 July 2009 Zopa Italy was notified of the cancellation of its license to operate as a financial intermediary (106) by the Ministry of Economics and Finance, by indication of the Bank of Italy. As a consequence Zopa Italy has stopped issuing new loans and accepting registration of new…

As mentioned, last week was a clearing and settlement week, with lots of discussions about the issues of clearing in Europe.  You would think if it was clearing, it should be clear … but it's a real mess of complexity and confusion if we're honest. In Europe, part of the issue comes down to the…

As mentioned, last week was a clearing and settlement week, with lots of discussions about the issues of clearing in Europe.  You would think if it was clearing, it should be clear … but it's a real mess of complexity and confusion if we're honest. In Europe, part of the issue comes down to the…

As mentioned, last week was a clearing and settlement week, with lots of discussions about the issues of clearing in Europe.  You would think if it was clearing, it should be clear … but it's a real mess of complexity and confusion if we're honest. In Europe, part of the issue comes down to the…

I got caught up in a debate about pay and remuneration in finance this week. This is because Stephen Hester at RBS had his package hiked to £9.6 million if he delivers all of his targets – of which the main target appears to be achieving a 70 pence share price as that will make…