Western Europe Archives

Join the global community of corporate and public-sector finance industry leaders reading Global Finance monthly in print.

Click Here

Capital Raising & Corporate Finance

‘GOOGLE TAX’ ON MULTINATIONALS HEATS UP GLOBAL CORPORATE TAX DEBATE

UK Corporate Tax | Trends Britain likely will succeed in taxing multinational companies at a 25% rate on their UK operations beginning in April, without violating international tax treaties, analysts say, but tensions are rising between countries on suspicions that MNCs are engaging in global tax evasion.

Economics, Policy & Regulation

ANTI-MONEY LAUNDERING FIGHTER CHAIRS KEY VATICAN UNIT

Vatican | Newsmakers René Brülhart, known as the “James Bond of the financial world” for his high-profile role in cases such as the return of assets from Saddam Hussein to post-war Iraq and the uncovering of the Siemens bribery scandal, has become chairman of the Vatican’s anti-money-laundering unit.

Banking

ING COMPLETES BAILOUT REPAYMENT

Netherlands | Milestone As a part of the restructuring agreement between ING, the Dutch government and the European Commission, ING agreed to several of what it called “bans,” according to an email sent by a company spokesman to Global Finance

Award Winners

KEEPING DATA SAFE: PAOLO DI GRAZIA, FINECOBANK

Website design is becoming more important than ever, particularly in areas such as ease of use, security features, integrated functions and aesthetics.

Capital Raising & Corporate Finance

SHAREHOLDER ACTIVISTS JOIN FORCES ACROSS THE ATLANTIC

Shareholder Activism | Management Shareholder activism—when investors in a company use their equity as a lever to pressure management—is booming and will grow dramatically on both sides of the Atlantic through mid-2016

Economics, Policy & Regulation

CYPRUS BEGINS LONG ROAD TO RECOVERY

COUNTRY REPORT | CYPRUS Amid continuing harsh austerity measures, things are—very slowly—starting to recover, alongside restructuring that will change the focus of the economy. GDP in 2014 should contract by 3.5% before flattening out next year, with 0.2% growth forecast.

Capital Raising & Corporate Finance

GLUT OF EUROS COULD KEEP SINGLE CURRENCY WEAK

Trends | Foreign Exchange The global imbalance created by Europe’s huge current-account surplus and excess savings has created a glut of euros that could condemn the single currency to broad-based weakening.

Banking

HILL TO PUSH SECURITIZATION AS FINANCIAL STABILITY HEAD

Newsmakers | United Kingdom After a bumpy ride, the UK’s candidate, lord Jonathan Hill, has been confirmed by the European Parliament as commissioner for financial stability, capital markets and financial services.

Awards

INTERVIEWS WITH THE AWARD WINNERS

View From The Top Global Finance speaks to leading executives at the World’s Safest Banks.

Banking

SEISMIC SHIFTS UPEND THE FX BUSINESS

FX Supplement 2014 | Overview Will regulation repair forex’s damaged reputation—and are banks ready for the culture change?

Economics, Policy & Regulation

YOUNG CONSERVATIVE TAKES HELM IN BELGIUM

Newsmakers | Belgium After almost five months of parliamentary squabbling since the elections of May 25th, Belgium finally inaugurated a new government in mid-October.

Capital Raising & Corporate Finance

A Small Step to Unlock Credit for the Club Med

This month the European Central Bank will start to buy euro-denominated asset-backed securities (ABS) and covered bonds in an effort to revive a market that has been sharply impaired since the financial crisis.