Financial Regulation: A New Fortress Europe
by Nicolas Véron on 20 February 2010
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Category: OPINION PIECES AND COLUMNS
Topics: Financial markets and regulation
EU policy leaders are becoming increasingly aware that the necessary re-regulation of Europe’s financial system must not be allowed to lead to a damaging fragmentation of its internal market for financial services. However, they still seem oblivious of the risk of global financial fragmentation inherent in some of their regulatory initiatives, however well-intended. In his monthly column, Senior Fellow Nicolas Véron takes a brief look at the difficult and complex corresponding trade-offs. This op-ed was published in the Turkish weekly Referans, the French newspaper La Tribune, Forbes Russia and the Chinese Caing.com.
Financial-Transaction Tax: Small is Beautiful
by Zsolt Darvas, Jakob von Weizsäcker on 08 February 2010
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Category: POLICY CONTRIBUTIONS
Topics: Financial markets and regulation
Based on their contribution to the European Parliament Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee, in this Policy Contribution Resident Fellows Zsolt Darvas and Jakob von Weizsäcker discuss the merits of the much-discussed financial-transaction tax. They argue that the case for taxing financial transactions for the sake of not raising revenue is relatively weak, but a financial-transaction tax could be useful in limiting socially-undesirable transactions. On this basis, they say, a very small, coordinated tax on financial transactions could be implemented successfully.
Le Imprese non paghino le difficolta delle banche
by Ignazio Angeloni on 19 January 2010
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Category: OPINION PIECES AND COLUMNS
Topics: Financial markets and regulation, European and global governance
In this column, Visiting Scholar Ignazio Angeloni argues that the exit phase from the financial crisis will prove particularly dangerous for European small and medium sized enterprises. Many of them, though viable in the long run, are endangered by a prolonged negative cash flow, tight lending by banks and shifting patterns of international demand and competitiveness. Public intervention (eg. through credit guarantees) to temporarily protect SMEs is justified in these circumstances.
La cura Volcker puo non bastare
by Ignazio Angeloni on 19 January 2010
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Category: OPINION PIECES AND COLUMNS
Topics: Financial markets and regulation, European and global governance
In this column published in the Italian Il Corriere della Sera, Visiting Scholar Ignazio Angeloni argues that the
'Volcker rule'(the recent proposal by the US administration to ban proprietary trading for comercial banks) is neither necessary nor sufficient to reduce systemic risks in the financial sector. Risks in recent years have mainly come from non-bank intermediaries (hedge funds like LTCM, investment banks, insurance companies). Pridential regulation should be as uniform as possible across types of intermediaries and jurisdictions.fileadmin/files/admin/publications/opinion_pieces_and_colums/2010/February/20100215_IA_Corriere.pdf
Financial Transaction Tax: Small is Beautiful
by Zsolt Darvas, Jakob von Weizsäcker on 11 January 2010
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Category: EXTERNAL PUBLICATIONS
Topics: Financial markets and regulation
Resident Fellows Zsolt Darvas and Jakob von Weizsäcker wrote this paper on the pros and cons of a Financial Transaction Tax (FTT) following testimony von Weizsäcker gave for the Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee of the European Parliament. They argue that a small tax on financial transactions is justifiable in order to limit socially undesirable transactions. Please see here for the authors' accompanying presentation.
A revised version of this paper was published as a Bruegel Policy Contribution in February 2010. Please see here to download the Policy Contribution.