International debt investors increasingly demand assets that are aligned with environmental, social and governance objectives. Sovereign debt is being belatedly swept up in this change. This huge asset class represents a uniquely long-term claim and funds a wide range of public expenditure, both...

Eight years after the start of Europe's financial crisis, the legacy of non-performing loans and excessive private debt remains a key obstacle to the recovery of bank credit and investment. The efforts to reduce and remove NPLs from the balance sheets of creditors must simultaneously remove...

The deep involvement of a number of euro-area banking groups in central and southeastern Europe has benefi tted the host countries and has strengthened the resilience of those banking groups. But this integration has become less close because of post-fi nancial crisis national rules that require...

-The European Union's capital markets union (CMU) plan is in urgent need of a revamp. Because of Brexit, EU capital markets and supervision need to become more integrated. The ongoing deep recession increases the need for equity finance mobilised by capital markets. -The eleven EU countries in...

The market for distressed debt will need to play a more prominent role in Europe's emerging strategy to tackle the legacy of non-performing loans (NPLs). This market could speed up NPL resolution and allow greater flexibility in bank balance sheet management. Investors could contribute crucial...

Facilitating the financing of European companies through external equity is a central ambition of European Union financial regulation, including in the European Commission's capital markets union agenda. An emphasis on equity is justified because Europe's companies remain vulnerable because they...