The ECRI Statistical Package on Consumer Credit in Europe 1995-2007 is a collection of data on consumer credit, covering 35 countries: the 27 EU member states, two EU candidate countries (Turkey and Croatia) and 5 additional key global economies (the United States, Australia, Canada, Japan, Switzerland and Iceland). Its purpose is to provide reliable statistical information allowing users to make meaningful comparisons between these countries. Accordingly, definitions of concepts and aggregates from national authorities are provided.

Observing that we are living in extraordinary times, Daniel Gros and Stefano Micossi warn in a new CEPS Commentary that policy-makers in Europe cannot continue to muddle through. They put forward simple proposals aimed to putting the euro area ahead of events in the unfolding crisis. Daniel Gros is Director of the Centre for European Policy Studies in Brussels. Stefano Micossi is Director of Assonime, a business association and think-tank in Rome.

This Commentary by CEPS Chief Executive looks at the financial crisis that has gripped Europe since the massive liquidity injection by the European Central Bank on 9 August 2007. One year on, he notes that some clear shifts are discernible in the institutional set-up, but they have probably not been explicitly acknowledged. At the same time, the crisis has brought to the fore important gaps in the European and global supervisory architecture.

In this commentary, CEPS Chief Executive Karel Lannoo calls for a consolidation of the EU Financial Markets’ supervisory framework.

This paper starts with a bird’s eye view of retail financial markets in the EU today and their degree of integration. It reviews the EU measures affecting retail financial markets and how rule-making has evolved over the last 15 years. A third section discusses issues raised by EU rule-making in retail financial markets and concludes with recommendations for policy.

There remains considerable confusion as to how exactly the MiFID and UCITS directives will interact in the long run. This uncertainty reflects the growing pains of a regulatory transformation that represents no less than a tectonic shift from intense and prescriptive product regulation to a more flexible, principles-based regulation of management functions. Unlike UCITS, MiFID is a horizontal directive that cuts across the entire financial services industry (except for insurance).

Three years after a fiery lift-off, the European Company Statute (ECS) is anything but popular. Although the numbers appear to be improving gradually, only a few companies have actually taken the leap to become certified as a European Company (SE). CEPS’ aim in producing this report, and more generally in initiating a Task Force on the issue, has been to examine the problems that inhibit companies from choosing the ECS as a vehicle for simplifying their structures.

The intention of this article is to subject European financial centres to a SWOT analysis, assessing their Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats. We start with a closer definition of the term financial centre and a classification of the different kinds of financial centres found in Europe. A second section analyses the extent to which EU legislation and in particular the Financial Services Action Plan (FSAP) may lead to an intensification of financial centre competition. In a final section, we make some assessments for the future.

The 2007 ECRI Statistical Package is available in three different forms: in PDF, as an Excel file or a combination of PDF and Excel files.

Orders for the Excel file (either individually or in combination with the PDF) will be dispatched by email as soon as payment is received. Orders for the PDF will be immediately downloadable and accompanied by a print-out dispatched by post.

This report surveys recent empirical research on the state and development of retail banking integration in Europe. It finds a broad consensus that retail banking integration is still limited, although integration seems to have gained momentum more recently. At the same time, the survey finds less agreement about how to measure integration. Evidence from various types of integration measures is discussed in detail and the shortcomings of these measures are highlighted.

Credit reporting agencies collect and compile highly sensitive information on the millions of consumers in credit markets throughout the world and also increasingly across a variety of industries, such as insurance, retail and telecommunications. In this revised edition, Nicola Jentzsch provides an in-depth analysis of the economics and regulation of financial privacy and a comparative overview of credit reporting systems in the US and the 27 member states of the European Union.

MiFID portends a true revolution in the European financial landscape for both exchanges and financial services firms. Inter alia, the EU legislation abolishes the monopoly position traditionally enjoyed by exchanges and introduces the concept of best execution for service providers. In his survey of the state of preparedness on the part of both member states and firms to implement the MiFID provisions, CEPS Chief Executive Karel Lannoo finds huge diversity.