Guntram Wolff

About Guntram Wolff

Guntram Wolff is the director of Bruegel, a European think tank specializing in economics. His research focuses on the EU economy and governance, fiscal policy, and global finance.
Author Archive | Guntram Wolff
Finance sector development

What should Europe do to fix its financial system?

What should Europe do to fix its financial system?
Over five years after the onset of the 2008 global financial crisis, the EU financial system remains in a fragmented state. Banks do not lend to each other across borders without asking for a significant premium. In the larger eurozone countries, cross-border retail banking remains a negligible source of credit and thus could not compensate for the dysfunctional interbank market. As a result, in many European countries, credit for households and businesses—who mostly rely on banks rather than capital markets for financing—remains costly and limited, inhibiting opportunities for economic growth in the region.