Western Europe Archives

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Award Winners

Adding Value And Boosting Digital Agility: Svante Andreen, Nordea

Nordea Markets Investment Banking is an integrated part of wholesale banking in the Nordea Group. A move from different legacy systems to one single platform is part of Nordea’s simplification program. SvanteAndreen, Nordea co-head of markets investment banking, expects the move to foster agility, enabling Nordea to become a truly digital bank.

Capital Raising & Corporate Finance

Barclays To Sell Africa Business

Capital Markets | Regulation “Nothing will make us deviate or change our course. We are not exiting our operations in any of our African markets,” declared Maria Ramos, CEO of Barclays Africa.

Economics, Policy & Regulation

Catalan Leader Amps Up Independence Call

Spain: Legislators in Catalonia elected Carles Puigdemont, who has been pushing for independence for the big Spanish region for years, as president on January 10.

Capital Raising & Corporate Finance

EC Orders Belgium To Recoup Money Lost In Illegal Tax Breaks

Trends | Taxation As part of a crackdown on generous tax incentives across the European Union, in January the European Commission (EC) demanded Belgium claw back €700 million ($762 million) in tax breaks from at least 35 European firms.

Country Report

Has Italy Turned A Corner?

The foundations for economic recovery have been laid by Matteo Renzi’s government, which is tackling fundamental issues at the heart of Italy’s problems. But he has yet to work his magic on public spending.

Banking

International Investors Decry Portuguese Bank Bail-In

Capital Markets | Fixed Income A bail-in provision, which places the onus on bondholders and other investors to write down their holdings in the event of winding up a troubled financial institution within the European Union, came into effect on January 1, 2016.

Capital Raising & Corporate Finance

EU Countries Agree On Principles For Financial Transaction Tax

Taxation | Capital Markets In December 2015, 10 European Union members agreed on key aspects of a harmonized financial transaction tax (FTT).

Banking

Europe’s Private Debt Boom

Traditional banks are pulling back from lending to small and midsize businesses. Just as happened in the US, funds are filling the void.

Banking

Benelux Turns A Corner For Progress

Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg call on old and new strengths to jump-start growth.

Banking

Iceland Economy Back From The Brink

Iceland has recovered smartly from the worst recession in its history. Now it must keep inflation at bay—and that might require a monetary overhaul.

Capital Raising & Corporate Finance

Slavery Act Puts Company Reputations On The Line

Management | Corporate Governance With the enactment of the Modern Slavery Act in October, the United Kingdom has made a new addition to the growing body of compliance regulations sprouting up globally.

Capital Raising & Corporate Finance

Concrete Steps Toward A CMU

Capital Markets | Remedial Measures The European Commission cites four concrete steps for kick-starting the Capital Market Union