Why are European banks merging?
An ECB accounting change is encouraging new alliances
WHEN CAIXABANK and Bankia, its state-owned peer, announced on September 3rd that they were exploring a merger to create Spain’s biggest domestic lender, politicians, regulators and analysts offered unusually unanimous applause. If the deal goes through, it will boost consolidation within the Spanish market, hitherto highly fragmented beneath the two international giants, Banco Santander and BBVA. It may also inspire similar deals elsewhere in the European Union.
This article appeared in the Finance & economics section of the print edition under the headline “Badwill hunting”
Finance & economics September 12th 2020
- Beware the power of retail investors
- How to bet on art and other baubles
- How has trade survived covid-19?
- Ports are highly exposed to climate change and often ill-prepared
- What can be learnt from Chinese futures trading?
- How to launder ill-gotten gains
- Why are European banks merging?
- Which is the best market model?
From the September 12th 2020 edition
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Nobody is to blame. Everyone suffers
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Canada and Mexico look likely to suffer