Phoebus L. Athanassiou – författare

The European Sovereign Debt Crisis: Breaking the Vicious Circle between Sovereigns and Banks explains why the euro area’s progress towards reining in the risks arising from the well-documented bi-directional financial contagion transmission mechanism that links sovereigns to commercial banks has been more prominent compared to the channel of contagion moving from banks to sovereigns.

Providing an analysis of the legal and regulatory measures that Europe and the euro area have taken to mitigate the exposure of sovereigns to financial crises generated by commercial banks, this book draws attention to areas where improvements to the arsenal of tools hitherto introduced are either desirable or necessary. Chapters further explain – with recourse to economic and legal arguments – why the channel of contagion moving from sovereigns to commercial banks has proven harder to close, and explores ways in which progress could be made in the direction of closing it so as to avert the risk of future banking sector crises.

This work provides essential reading for students, researchers and practitioners with an interest in sovereign debt crises and the euro-area banking system.

The European Sovereign Debt Crisis: Breaking the Vicious Circle between Sovereigns and Banks explains why the euro area’s progress towards reining in the risks arising from the well-documented bi-directional financial contagion transmission mechanism that links sovereigns to commercial banks has been more prominent compared to the channel of contagion moving from banks to sovereigns.

Providing an analysis of the legal and regulatory measures that Europe and the euro area have taken to mitigate the exposure of sovereigns to financial crises generated by commercial banks, this book draws attention to areas where improvements to the arsenal of tools hitherto introduced are either desirable or necessary. Chapters further explain – with recourse to economic and legal arguments – why the channel of contagion moving from sovereigns to commercial banks has proven harder to close, and explores ways in which progress could be made in the direction of closing it so as to avert the risk of future banking sector crises.

This work provides essential reading for students, researchers and practitioners with an interest in sovereign debt crises and the euro-area banking system.

Consumer behaviour is rapidly trending towards the use of digital devices as instruments through which to transact day-to-day business. This original and timely book shows how this trend creates new opportunities not only for retail consumers but also for financial service providers, regulators and central banks. The author offers a comprehensive overview of these opportunities and their countervailing legal and regulatory challenges.

The author describes and analyses in unprecedented detail the application of digital financial innovation (FinTech), and some of its core manifestations, including virtual currencies, Blockchain and distributed ledger technologies to the delivery of financial services, in areas such as:

Also clarified are the legal and other barriers to be overcome – including cybersecurity and risks to privacy – before any widespread adoption of digital innovation in the highly regulated financial sector context can occur.

As an informed assessment of the legal merits and risks of technological innovation for financial service providers and central banks, and as a contribution to establishing a conceptual framework within which to analyse and better understand the applications of digital innovation to the financial sector, this practical work is bound to be welcomed by legal practitioners and legal scholars alike with an interest in financial services. Policymakers and regulators will also appreciate its guidance on how to temper the less benevolent aspects of FinTech with targeted, risk-focused regulation, so as to promote innovation and preserve the potential benefits for financial markets and their participants alike.