A decade and a half after the global financial crisis, the past sins of the banking industry weigh more heavily on some jurisdictions than others. Recent regulatory and tax-policy developments suggest that European banks will remain unloved and unfree, especially compared to their American and British counterparts.
LONDON – It has now been more than 15 years since the white heat of the global financial crisis, when Lehman Brothers, Bear Stearns, and the Royal Bank of Scotland (among others) failed. At the time, big banks deserved the tidal wave of opprobrium that came their way, and they duly accepted huge increases in capital requirements, dividend bans, and other controls on distributions and pay. Just a few years ago, those who put their heads above the parapet to argue that enough was enough still found bullets whistling past their ears.
LONDON – It has now been more than 15 years since the white heat of the global financial crisis, when Lehman Brothers, Bear Stearns, and the Royal Bank of Scotland (among others) failed. At the time, big banks deserved the tidal wave of opprobrium that came their way, and they duly accepted huge increases in capital requirements, dividend bans, and other controls on distributions and pay. Just a few years ago, those who put their heads above the parapet to argue that enough was enough still found bullets whistling past their ears.