In five out of nine times that the European Council has met since January 2011, market expectations have been missed. Analysts at BNP Paribas have done the research, which supports the heavy air of pessimism surrounding this Thursday's euro summit that is set to present some sort of action plan on Friday. “Although it is improbable that we get a final solution to the euro area crisis,” BNP Paribas said…
MADRID | Summits are meant to be the meeting place for those dwelling in the Olympus. Those struggling to survive on the Earth surface have more urgent concerns than discussing about the euro zone destiny, an angels'-gender dispute that fails soothing their daily toils. Spain undoubtedly ranks among the latter. It will attend today’s meeting with its mind focused on the bleak aftermath. Banking union might stand as a cornerstone…
By Nuño Rodrigo | www.cincodias.es | While our European leaders battle with a crisis seemingly impossible to be resolved, while euro zone third and the fourth economies feel threatened by the danger of being rescued because they cannot afford to access the markets, and while for all of these reasons the world approaches a crisis relapse, the guardian of austerity secrets and price stability wakes up every day with a sack of almost…
MADRID | Germany will not move unless it firmly secures the fiscal compact goal. The growth strategy, the financial transactions tax and even banking union will only thrive so long discipline in public accounts is agreed. You can sulk at the stubborn obstinacy shown by Ms Merkel on this issue but trying to ignore it would not help Europe to overcome current problems. Brussels is proposing an enhanced budgetary control that…
MADRID | No one expected the Rome gathering to produce a comprehensive answer to the euro’s acute problems. Divergences still run high between Germany and France on the right approach to take. Avoiding the impression other partners might be faced with a ready cooked solution in the forthcoming Summit, also invited to adopt a self-restrained attitude. So leaders from the four leading economies in the euro area choose to come…
By Luis Arroyo, in Madrid | The results of those independent audits over the Spanish banking sector have come to be summarised in one line, that banks would need up to €62 billion if the economy took a turn for the worst. Now, the published opinion in the country is terribly divided, as it was expected between the optimists and pessimists. To some extent, we cannot exactly be hopeful. There…
MADRID | The relaxed atmosphere in a seaside resort has undoubtedly helped coming to terms with a number of common sense goals. But delivery might prove more gruelling than expected. You don’t need to cross the Atlantic and be lectured by President Obama to concede that unwinding the feedback between financial and sovereign risks stands as a key requirement. Or to accept that current Spanish and Italian risk premium should be…
By Tania Suárez, in Madrid | The Italian banking system is, too, in the spotlight. Experts at Morgan Stanley consider that the problems of the Italian banking sector are not comparable to the Spanish banking, although there are important risks to take into account. These analysts recommend taking a cautious stand if there isn’t a coordinated solution at European level. In that sense, they reduce to neutral their recommendation for…
By Nuño Rodrigo | www.cincodias.com | It is remarkable the swiftness with which the markets have amortised the bailout plan for the Spanish banking sector. But it is no surprise; the markets have their own stimulus, reward and learning mechanisms, and when an event appears repeatedly, the process rolls out ever quicker. The Greek bailout anaesthetised the markets for some months; the Irish did the same for some weeks; the…
Helga Jung is the first woman to enter the board of Allianz, the largest insurance pool in the world, in the center of German finance. The group became Allianz Societas Europaea (SE) in 2006. With more than 78 million customers, 142,000 employees and a global presence in 70 countries, Allianz obtained an operating income of €7.9 billion in 2011. Its assets under third parties management are of €1.281 billion. What risks…