A four-minute video by the European Banking Association (EBA) explains the stress tests released on Oct. 26, 2014:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bCBnr6Z3DXQ&feature=player_embedded

COMMENT:  This page is still in development and some of the links to articles may not work yet. 

FX Bank Settlements WSJ 11 12 14.docx (121.69 kb)

ECB Tax assets as capital WSJ 102714.docx (323.27 kb)

German Savers Turn to Foreign Banks WSJ 091614.docx (76.28 kb)

International Covenant Use WSJ 090214.doc (63.50 kb)

Proposed Bank Loan Loss Accounting Change WSJ 081314.docx (15.41 kb)

Bank Risks Must Be Made Clear to Investors AB 080114.docx (15.67 kb) discusses some the developments to make bank financial statements more comparable across country borders and proposals for different treatments of loan loss provisions.

Banks Face Added Capital Requirements 070614 WSJ.docx (79.48 kb)

For a brief discussion on the comparison performances of asset-backed securities (ABS) in the EU, UK and US see EU UK ABS WSJ 041114.doc (25.50 kb).

For a detailed analysis of LIBOR and other international market benchmark or reference rates see “LIBOR: Origins, Economics, Crisis, Scandal, and Reform,” David Hou and David Skeie, FRBNY Staff Report No. 667, March 2014, at http://www.newyorkfed.org/research/staff_reports/sr667.pdf.

EU Euribor Yen Rigging Fines WSJ 120413.docx (117.53 kb)

Europe Agrees on New Rules for Insurance Industry WSJ111413.doc (27.00 kb)

EU LIBOR & Euribor Rigging Fines WSJ110513.docx (145.34 kb)

The following article discusses the EU investigation of Mastercard interchange fees as being anti-competitive. WSJEUInvestigatesMastercardFees041013.doc (25.50 kb)

 The following articles discusses loan loss accounting proposals for FASB and IASB.
WSJLoanLossAcctFASBvsIASB022813.doc (58.50 kb)

We will also look at the differences in the more restrictive foreclosure laws and practices in Europe vs. the US and the effects on household spending at WSJUSvsEuropeForeclosures013113.doc (185.00 kb) (LECTURE 23)

This article  on 9/15/13 discusses how Spanish and Italian banks want to convert tax deferred assets into permanent tax credits for capital purposes.  They are deducted from capital ratios now because they may never be used if the bank is not profitable. EuropeBanksDeferredTaxAssetsWSJ091513.docx (15.32 kb)

Articles on benchmark rates such as LIBOR: 

EURIBORvsLIBOR.doc (57.00 kb)

WSJLIBORRigging020613.doc (125.50 kb)

The following article discusses possible alternative benchmark rates to LIBOR

WSJMonMktRates011713.doc (645.00 kb)  (LECTURE 19)

Four Stories of Quantitative Easing, by Brett W. Fawley and Christopher J. Neely
in Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis Review, January/February 2013 Vol. 95, No. 1, pp. 51-88. http://research.stlouisfed.org/publications/review/article/9602

This article describes the circumstances of and motivations for the quantitative easing programs of the Federal Reserve, Bank of England, European Central Bank, and Bank of Japan during the recent financial crisis and recovery. The programs initially attempted to alleviate financial market distress, but this pur- pose soon broadened to include achieving inflation targets, stimulating the real economy, and containing the European sovereign debt crisis. The European Central Bank and Bank of Japan focused their programs on direct lending to banks—reflecting the bank-centric structure of their financial systems— while the Federal Reserve and the Bank of England expanded their respective monetary bases by purchasing bonds.

EU  and World Financial Information Sources

World Interest Rates:  http://www.fxstreet.com/economic-calendar/world-interest-rates/

OECD Statistical Data:  http://stats.oecd.org/

Bank for International Settlements:  http://www.bis.org/index.htm;
Central Banks: http://www.bis.org/cbanks.htm;
Regulatory Authorities and Supervisory Agencies: http://www.bis.org/regauth.htm

European Central Bank (ECB):  https://www.ecb.europa.eu/home/html/index.en.html

Bank of England:  http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/Pages/home.aspx

CIA World Factbook:  https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/