European Monetary Union And International Capital Markets

This paper analyzes the structural implications of EMU for international capital markets. It discusses the potential size of euro capital markets and the existing roles of European currencies in international capital markets. The paper also examines the euro’s impact on international securities markets, including the role of the ECB, the evolution of EMU securities markets, and aspects of systemic risk management. The implications for wholesale and retail banking markets are also discussed, as are the broader implications of the introduction of the euro for changes in international capital flows, international portfolios, and by implication exchange rates.

Considers effects on capital and goods markets of monetary union in general and European Monetary Union (EMU) in particular. This volume addresses the effects of monetary union, which fall into three categories - adjustments in goods and labor markets, adjustments in money and capital markets, and institutional adjustments.

This book is based on the conference "EMU and the Outside World", held at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH), December 11, 1998. The conference was organized by the Swiss Institute for Business Cycle Research (KOF), which is supported jointly by the ETH and the Swiss Society for Business Cycle Research (SGK), an organization comprising representatives from private industry, the Swiss National Bank and public authorities. On the eve of the final stage of European Economic and Mone tary Union (EMU), Zurich seemed to be a particularly appropriate place for such a conference. On the one hand, given its location and economic and financial links with the euro area, Switzerland is one of the "outside coun tries" most affected by EMU. On the other hand, it was nowhere else than in Zurich where the vision of "a United States of Europe" was expressed for the first time by Winston Churchill in his speech on September 19, 1946. For many EMU is a step in that direction, whether welcome or not. Most of the papers appearing in this volume were presented at the con ference and have been revised and updated. Three contributions, chapter 11- 13, were commissioned specially for this publication. Besides the authors of the chapters, special thanks are due to Guido Boller, Robert McCauley, Umberto Schwarz, and Charles Wyplosz.

This book introduces readers to the world of international financial markets and their integration on a global and regional scale. The author presents the theoretical and practical issues concerning the processes of financial market integration, with a particular focus on the monetary union. The empirical research results are based on econometric modeling, thus simplifying them for a non-specialist audience, who can instead concentrate on the author’s conclusions, which comprise the results of these complicated research methods. The author outlines the role and functions of financial markets in the economy, in particular the relationship between financial intermediaries and financial markets and tackles the question of integration of new EU member countries’ financial markets within the eurozone. The integration of financial markets in an international context is inevitable, and the author argues that we must learn how to benefit from it from in terms of economic growth. This book will be a valuable resource for students of economics and finance, particularly those studying financial management and international business and finance, as well as professionals in these fields. Further, this book will be of interest to anyone looking to discover more about the problems of globalization and the integration of financial markets into the modern economy.

This book, edited by Paul R. Masson, Thomas Krueger, and Bart G. Turtelboom, contains the proceedings of the seminar held in Washington, D.C. on March 17-18, 1997, cosponsored by the IMF and Fondation Camille Gutt. Conference participants discussed implications of European Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) on exchange and financial markets, and consequently on the activities of market participants and private and official institutions. The five main themes of the seminar were the characteristics of the euro and its potential role as an international currency; EMU and international policy coordination; EMU and the relationship between the IMF and its EMU members; lessons of European monetary integration for the international monetary system; and the transitioin to EMU.

The papers collected in this volume are those presented at the thirteenth Colloquium arranged by the Societe Universitaire Europeenne de Recherches Financieres (SUERF), which took place in Luxembourg in October 1986. The Society issupported byalargenumberofcentralbanksandcommer cial banks, byother financial and business institutions, by treasury officials and by academics and others interested in monetary and financial prob lems. Since its establishment in 1963 it has developed as a forum for the exchange of information, research results and ideas, valued by academics and practitioners in these fields, including central bank officials and civil servants responsible for formulating and applying monetary and financial policies, national and international. A major 'activity of SUERF is to organize and conduct Colloquia on subjects of topical interest to its mem bers. The titles, places and dates of previous Colloquia for which volumes of the collected papers were published are noted on the last page of this volume. Volumes were not produced for Colloquia held at Tarragona, Spain in October 1970 under the title 'Monetary Policy and New Develop ments inBanking'andatStrasbourg, France inJanuary 1972underthe title 'Aspects ofEuropean Monetary Union'. The previous SUERF Colloquium, at Cambridge in March 1985, had as its subject 'Shifting Frontiers in Financial Markets'

"The European Monetary Union (EMU) has been the single most important policy-induced innovation in the international financial system since the collapse of the Bretton-Woods system. By eliminating exchange rate risk, EMU has eliminated a key obstacle to financial integration. But while a single currency is a necessary condition for the emergence of pan-European capital markets, it is not a sufficient one. Other frictions may still stand in the way of full integration: persistent differences in regulations applying to financial intermediaries, tax treatment, standard contractual clauses and business conventions, issuance policy, security trading systems, settlement systems, availability of information, and judicial enforcement may still segment financial markets along national borders. In the process that preceded and accompanied the introduction of the euro, however, monetary unification triggered a sequence of policy actions and private sector responses that swept aside many other regulatory barriers to financial integration. To what extent has this process of regulatory reform led to actual financial integration? And if European financial markets have actually become more integrated, to what extent have these changes spurred growth and investment in Europe? Will financial integration affect also the ability of households to shoulder risks, or the ability of European economies to adjust to macroeconomic shocks? Which policy lessons can we draw for the future of European financial markets?"--Publication information page.