The aim of Japan's comprehensive financial reform program "Financial Big Bang" was to create an internationally competitive financial sector based on three principles: free, fair and global by 2001. Policy makers encountered two challenges: strengthening competitiveness of the financial sector...

This paper examines the supervision of Central Clearing Counterparties (CCPs) in Europe, since they function as an important pillar of the Capital Markets Union. Our research indicates that the current national-based supervision of CCPs leads to regulatory arbitrage and exposes the EU to huge...

Compared to the U.S., the euro area has been underperforming in the wake of the Great Financial Crisis (GFC). This holds especially true for peripheral euro area economies. Whereas the U.S. is characterised by a financial system dominated by arms’ length (capital-market oriented) interaction...

The European Commission's current initiative to commence consultations on the action plan to build a Capital Markets Union is to be welcomed. The objective must be to create a stable and sustainable financial system, providing all households and companies with appropriate access to financial...

It has been an age-old debate whether the financial structure matters for the real economy’s efficiency and therefore for real outcomes. We suppose that varying socioeconomic conditions require appropriately designed corresponding financial sectors. For providing evidence, we firstly determine...

The Global Financial Crisis (GFC: 2008–2009) and the Euro Sovereign Crisis (ESC: 2010–2012) seem a process of creative destruction for the European Union (EU). The huge damage provoked by the GFC and ESC was, in fact, followed by important institutional building steps as the Banking Union...

The analysis highlights the aspects of diversified market structures and of local, low-distance banking as advantageous for financial stability. Heterogeneity protects from uniform market behaviour. Local banking can better overcome the problem of asymmetric information, particular in SME...

The contribution of institutionally diversified financial sectors to more sustainable growth and financial stability-in particular the role of effective local banking structures—is not always fully appreciated, whether in the context of development cooperation or in policy discussions in the...

The paper assesses the main factors underlying the decreasing profitability in the European banking sector, in comparison with the US. It underscores in particular the role of low interest rates, lower concentration, tighter regulation and the absence of a deep and liquid capital market. A...