March 30, 2017

Jean-Claude Juncker, while bank regulatory risk aversion remains, Europe will stall and fall, no matter what you do

Sir, Sarah Gordon writes: “There is no doubt that a boost to investment in Europe is still needed. Its recovery since the financial crisis has been the weakest in 30 years, and most of the region’s economies are still underperforming their potential. The Juncker plan was an ambitious and imaginative attempt. But as for many such grands projets, implementation has lagged behind conception” “Juncker’s European investment plan: rhetoric vs reality” March 29.

But in parallel to that, the regulators, with their risk weighted capital requirements for banks, distorted the allocation of credit to the real economy. 

By doubling down on risk perceptions they de facto decreed that those perceived as risky, like SMEs, were less worthy of bank credit than those perceived as safe, like sovereigns.

And Jean-Claude Juncker, not wanting to criticize technocrat colleagues preferred to launch this bureaucrats directed investment plan. 

Forget it! While current bank regulatory risk aversion remains, Europe has no way to go but to stall and fall.

Here my pending questions that are not answered by the regulators. 

@PerKurowski