By Gloria Hervás (Global Head of Public Policy, Banco Santander) | I have been working in banking for nearly 25 years, and I have experienced the debate over European financial integration firsthand—even before the complicated months leading up to the 2008 financial crisis. I still remember how doubts regarding the solvency of one part of the financial sector dragged down the industry as a whole, and how this fed into…
In addition, the European Commission has also given Spain a two-month ultimatum to transpose the directive on receivables managers and purchasers into national law. In two separate proceedings, Brussels has, on the one hand, opened a sanctioning file against Spain for failing to fully transpose the amendments to the directive on bank rescue and resolution, which relate to the prudential treatment of global systemically important institutions and the loss-absorbing and…
Alphavalue | Spanish banks recorded a shortfall of 7,336 million euros in 4Q20, equivalent to 0.94%, compared to the target for their minimum requirements for own funds and eligible liabilities of 29.10% of risk-weighted assets, set on average for the sector in Spain by 2024 by the SRB. These figures leave Spanish banks lagging behind the Banking Union as a whole, whose average shortfall was 0.58% or 39,604 euros million in 4Q20 with respect to the MREL target.
The ECB will stop injecting liquidity into the system next December. This leaves Eurozone banks in a slightly odd situation: returning to “normality” after years of atypical measures. The withdrawal of QE will have different impacts on different countries, depending on the characteristics of the models of their banking business.
Eurozone banks are currently keeping 690 billion euros at their central bank, according to the ECB’s last figures. While the European Commission aims to achieve by end-2018 a completed banking union, this an evidence of a more fragmented market. Are lenders suspicious of their refinancing capability in order to honour their debts? And why is Ewald Nowotny asking to cut them some slack?
The Spanish banks’ non-performing loans (NPLs) ratio fell to 10.35% in November (10.56% in October), with total bad loans standing at 138.894 billion euros. But this simple figure encapsulates the eternal problems of statistics. The fact is that the average NPL figure provided by the Bank of Spain does not reflect the significant differences between the banks.
Guntram B. Wolff via Caixin | The European Commission recently presented its proposals for European bank deposit insurance. Officials hope to stabilize the banking system and decouple bank financing costs from any solvency issues affecting their host states. This would achieve the original aim of a proposed banking union by breaking the link between states and their banking systems.
JOHN BRUTON | With a refugee crisis, a banking union and the prospect of a Brexit, the European Union is faced with a host of questions. The situation was described at the EPP Congress as the “most serious crisis for the European Union since its creation.” This is not an exaggeration.
Venture capital market is still relatively undeveloped in Spain, experts from La Caixa research argue. This kind of investment in Spanish firms totalled 280 million euros (0.03% of GDP) in 2014, clearly below the volumes of the US (0.17% of GDP).
BRUSSELS | May 7, 2015 | By Alexandre Mato | Plans to spin off Deutsche Bank’s retail business is the latest rumour to emerge from a changing European banking sector eagerly looking for ways to be more profitable under Basel III regulations. Too big to fail institutions are worried about a decline in their margins because of the low interest rates outlook. For these lenders, breaking up their investment and commercial business, as well as going on a shopping spree within the sector, seem to be solutions for growth.