Western Europe

The long-awaited consolidation of banks in Europe’s fragmented banking market has finally begun.

The strong euro will dampen import prices, weighing on inflation, and will be a headwind for EU exporters.

This will challenge the continent’s two largest payment processing networks and supersede the existing fragmented landscape by providing a unified payment solution to consumers and merchants across Europe using a card and a digital wallet.

This is the first occasion that a national court has declared an ECJ judgment invalid, and the ruling could therefore pose a threat to any uniform application of European Union law in future.