Nicolas Véron

Thoughts on Overindebtedness from a European Perspective

The Peterson Institute just published a Briefing book on China. It includes a chapter which I coauthored with Jeromin Zettelmeyer on "overindebtedness from a European perspective." Our aim was to look retrospectively at the past decade of crisis in the euro area and to identify lessons that may be relevant for Chinese policymakers, particularly on implicit guarantees, moral hazard, and market discipline. We consider these issues both for banks and sovereigns (thus the coauthorship), and the interaction between the two. 

Update (28 September 2017): an updated version of the same text was published by Bruegel. 

Click here to download the PIIE Briefing in case the above link is broken. Click here for the Bruegel version. 

Testimony for the German Bundestag: Charting the Next Steps for the EU Financial Supervisory Architecture

Last Wednesday (31 May), I was invited by the Finance Committee of the German Bundestag to testify in Berlin on the reform of European financial supervisory authorities and related challenges of the EU financial supervisory architecture. My written statement was posted here by the Bundestag, and their page on the hearing with the full list of invited witnesses (individuals and organizations) is here.

In the statement, as in my responses to the Bundestag Members' questions last Wednesday, I argue that among the many financial authorities created by the European Union since 2010, only the European Banking Authority (EBA) and European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) require legislative reform in the near term. I also suggest principles to guide EU initiatives in this area, both in the immediate future and over a longer horizon. 

Update (June 7): a lightly edited version of my written statement was published this week by Bruegel as a Policy Contribution. Click here to download it in case the previous link does not work.

The written statement was also posted by the Peterson Institute.