Europe’s banking union is crucial for merger push, says German banks group head

Progress on European banking union is vital to policymakers’ push to encourage cross-border mergers because banks will only be able to leverage synergies if there is a common market for their services, the head of Germany’s banks’ association said. Designed after the financial crisis, the banking union aims to centralise supervision of big lenders at the European Central Bank, but little progress has been made as divisions remain over some aspects, such as a joint deposit protection scheme. “If politicians really want to promote meaningful cross-border mergers in Europe, they need to strengthen the European single financial market,” Heiner Herkenhoff, CEO of the Association of German Banks, told Reuters.Read More