Video: 2023 Outlook for EU Insurance

Fighting inflation is high on the ECB’s agenda. If inflation remains elevated, additional rate increases could pose challenges in the housing markets. Given their size and importance, this would likely have ramifications for macro-financial stability. [more]

London continues to be the leading trading hub for OTC interest rate derivatives with a market share of 46% and an average daily turnover of USD 2.6 tr. However, the UK has lost ground since 2019 when its market share was still 51%. This is due to the transition away from Libor as well as the ongoing efforts of EU authorities to bring more derivatives clearing into the bloc. [more]

In this new video Max discusses the highlights from the third edition of the ‘The Bullwhip Effect’. A series the team launched in November when they turned positive on markets. [more]

In a new video Rhea Shah highlights how European retail online brokerage and platform universe all feature in the ‘European online brokers & platforms: Catering for the next-gen investors’ report. The report aims to making it easier for investors and corporates to compare companies in one place. [more]

Climate stress tests have emerged as a key tool for looking into the financial system’s vulnerability to climate risks. Banks’ exposure to climate risks stems from (1) physical risks that are closely related to geography, and (2) transition risks mainly from loans to carbon-intensive sectors. Exercises by the ECB and BoE suggest that banks’ credit losses in a disorderly transition would be higher than in an orderly transition scenario, and even higher in a “hot house world” with unabated global warming. Banks would be able to absorb climate-related losses due to strong capital buffers. Results are subject to data limitations and modelling constraints. So far, climate stress tests are declared learning exercises with no direct implications for capital requirements. However, supervisors are urging banks to set up a comprehensive climate risk management. [more]

For more than a decade, European banks have sought to catch up and narrow the gap to their US peers. For many years, they were not particularly successful, due to a number of reasons: economic growth in the US outpaced that in Europe, interest rates were consistently higher (and never negative) on the other side of the Atlantic, and restructuring and capital raising needs were greater in Europe which constrained the banks’ ability to expand their business. In the past few years, however, European banks’ performance has indeed improved and they have not just made substantial progress, but also seem well positioned to finally reduce the distance to their US competitors. [more]

Sustainability regulation, climate change, investor expectations, and consumer preferences have enhanced ESG related risks and opportunities. As a result, European Banks are putting significant resources towards environmental, social and governance objectives. [more]

The European banking sector is currently enjoying a sweet spot. Recent interest rate increases by central banks in most advanced economies combined with strong credit growth are having a pronounced positive impact on revenues, while loan loss provisions remain fairly low so far, although they have started to climb. Bottom line, growth in administrative expenses, individual banks’ tax and litigation payments as well as Russia-related losses have reduced net income, but the industry is still on track for a decent full-year result. More importantly, fundamentally higher-for-longer interest rates may support banks’ business prospects also in the medium term. [more]

House prices are cooling off after a pandemic surge. Some markets are more vulnerable than others. Adrian Cox gives a taste of what warning signs to look out for, why the crash of 2008 was different, and what this might mean for the broader economy. [more]

With all the talk of gas storage at 91%... new LNG terminals … and billions of public money to be spent on renewable energy… you might think Europe is on the brink of ending its dependency on Russian gas and moving to clean energy.
But we see 10 reasons why this will take longer than expected. [more]

Europe is in the middle of an energy crisis. It’s grappling with two big challenges at the moment – urgently weaning itself off Russian energy, particularly gas, and moving to a cleaner energy economy. At times, those two goals seem to be in opposition to each other. [more]

Energy prices have gone through the roof. Does Europe have enough gas to get through the winter? Adrian Cox explores how Europe has been on a breakneck drive to fill up its gas storage reservoirs this summer, piping gas in from Norway and the UK and shipping LNG from America. But will that be enough? Watch this new video to find out more. [more]