Can the Capital Markets Union deliver?

Abstract

Summary: Compared to the U.S., the euro area has been underperforming in the wake of the Great Financial Crisis (GFC). This holds especially true for peripheral euro area economies. Whereas the U.S. is characterised by a financial system dominated by arms’ length (capital-market oriented) interaction between providers and users of funds, in Europe, in many cases, bank intermediation dominates. However, fragile, capital-constrained banks also meant a curtailed supply of funds, an issue especially for bank-dependent small or medium-sized firms (SMEs). Hence, it appears more than evident that easing the access to capital markets (in particular through securitization) should support medium-run growth perspectives, especially in peripheral euro area economies, those worst hit. There might, however, be structural (economic) reasons why SMEs prefer (local) bank relationships. Given substantial underlying idiosyncrasies, placing SME debt, in collateralised form, on capital markets has proven difficult. Finally, t...