
Banking and capital markets
While the world was saved from financial instability during the pandemic, new developments in the European Union’s financial system are emerging.
Completion of the banking union and integration of the EU’s capital markets remain central to completing the EU’s economic and monetary union. Bruegel’s researchers monitor developments in the financial sector, evaluate public policy responses and make recommendations.
Under the 2024/2025 research programme, Bruegel fellows focus on rebooting European banking union completion, the role of banks in achieving net-zero emissions and the EU’s sustainable finance framework.
Recently published and updated

A single market for capital: five priorities for the EU

The quickly fading memory of why and when bank capital is important
Deregulation should not be equated with lowering capital requirements in the EU

What can central banks do to take the Paris Agreement seriously?
Central banks should take a macro approach to managing system-wide risks stemming from the climate transition

The state of financial knowledge in the European Union: a new survey

Memo to the commissioner responsible for economic and financial affairs
Events

Preserving and enhancing open financial markets: a conversation with Andrew Bailey
A fireside chat on fostering openness in financial markets and the role of central banks

How can the insurance sector contribute to the Savings and Investment Union?
How can the insurance sector better support the Savings and Investment Union while balancing the benefits and risks of regulatory changes?

Obstacles to scale-up finance in the EU and how to address them
At this closed-door roundtable we will discuss scale-up financing in the EU
Podcasts

Nature on the balance sheet: a financial perspective
How can businesses, governments and financial institutions work together to tackle the global biodiversity crisis?

Climate change, the next big financial threat
A warming planet poses new risks to European sovereign debt. How can the continent protect itself?

Capital markets union - why now?
What is hindering the EU from achieving a Capital markets union?

What to do with frozen Russian assets
How could the EU help further fund Ukraine two years into the war?