Business
European Banks Get Reality Check
Banking regulators said last Thursday that European banks need to raise nearly €115 billion by June as pressure mounts for political leaders to come up with a workable plan to resolve the debt crisis.
Among the 31 banks on the European Banking Authority’s list, six are from Germany — Europe’s largest economy. But Spain’s Banco Santander faces the biggest shortfall of €15.3 billion, CNN reports.
Spanish banks came under scrutiny in July, when the EBA carried out stress tests of 90 institutions. Of the eight that failed, five were in Spain. At that time, the EBA said the banks needed €2.5 billion to survive.
While the latest EBA report was not the result of stress tests per se, it is still a big reality check for banks across Europe.
Aside from Greece, Spain faces the biggest overall shortfall, of €26.2 billion, followed by Italy (€15.4 billion) and Germany (€13.1 billion).
And Belgian bank Dexia, which received a €90 billion bailout in October, needs to raise €6.3 billion.
Banks have been at the epicenter of the crisis as sovereign debt problems deepen and spread.
“It’s really no surprise,” said Keith Springer, president of Springer Financial Advisors. “We know they’re undercapitalized.” He also estimates the capital requirements may be closer to the trillion mark.
Banks must submit their plans, which could include retaining profits and cutting bonuses, to the EBA by Jan. 20.
It’s been a tough two years for Europe as the crisis took hold and spread like the plague.
In the past month alone, three countries have gotten new leaders, including Italy, where borrowing costs skyrocketed. Meanwhile, leaders continued to do a lot of talk with very little action.
0:00 / 1:29 Countdown is on to save euro
There’s a lot riding on the European Union two-day summit, which concludes Friday. On Monday, French President Nicolas Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel said they had agreed to a fiscal pact that would help avert another crisis.
But the pact would most likely require treaty changes for at least the 17 eurozone nations, though Merkel said she’d like all 27 EU members to consider changes as well.
“It all comes down to Germany,” said Springer.
The pressure is on. Earlier this week, Standard & Poor’s put 15 of the 17 eurozone nations on notice that they may face a possible downgrade.
The ratings agency also warned the European Financial Stability Facility, which is partially backed by those countries, that it could also be downgraded, as well as the European Union as a whole.
S&P also warned several large eurozone banks, including some on the EBA list, that they could be downgraded.
French bank BNP Paribas, along with Germany’s Deutsche Bank and Commerzbank made both lists.
In all, the EBA reviewed 71 banks in 20 countries.
Business
Private sector gets N2.2tr credit in 30 days — CBN
Credit to Nigeria’s private sector rose to N83.26 trillion in June 2026 from N81.04 trillion in May, signifying a positive balance of N2.22 trillion month-on-month.
Year-on-year, the figure represents a nine per cent increase compared with the N76.13 trillion recorded in June 2025. The latest figures come as the CBN continues to balance efforts to control inflation with the need to support economic growth and expand credit to businesses.
The CBN data shows that credit to Nigeria’s private sector increased by approximately 2.74 per cent month-on-month between May and June 2026. Also, the CBN data noted that credit to the government fell slightly to N40.03 trillion from N40.38 trillion. Other assets, net, dropped to N10.76 trillion from N12.63 trillion.
The credit surge signifies sustained growth in lending to businesses and other private-sector borrowers during the month. The rise in private sector credit was recorded alongside an increase in net domestic credit, despite declines in credit to government and other assets.
Further analysis of the report says that compared with June 2025, private sector credit rose by about N7.13 trillion yea-on-year but net domestic credit increased by approximately N1.87 trillion during the month.
The CBN’s relatively tight monetary policy stance notwithstanding, more banks still loaded funds to the private sector within the period. The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) held its 306th meeting on July 20 and 21.
The Committee reviewed recent developments in the global and domestic economies, assessed emerging risks to the outlook and considered their implications for monetary policy and retained all rates.
The Committee decided to retain the Monetary Policy Rate at 26.5 per cent; the Standing Facilities Corridor around the MPR at +50/-450 basis points and retain the Cash Reserve Requirement (CRR) for Deposit Money Banks at 45.00 per cent, Merchant Banks at 16.00 per cent, and non-TSA public sector deposits at 75.00 per cent.
The MPC decision means that credit extension in the private sector will likely continue to rise because of rising confidence in the sector and calls by stakeholders for banks to invest in the private scetor instead of government securities.
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