Four years after the introduction of the euro, this paper provides an overview of the current structure and integration of the euro area financial systems and related policy initiatives. We first compare the euro area financial structure with that of the United States and Japan. Using new and...

This paper discusses a wide range of indicators of the degree of integration of the euro area banking system. It is concerned with volume data, a less developed field of research compared with studies on prices/rates. We first set out a methodological framework, a mixture of elementary and more...

In the aftermath of the financial crises, questions have been raised as to why there were significant differences in the denominator of the calculation of risk-weighted assets (RWAs). The EBA and other international bodies have already conducted significant work on the comparability of capital...