This book explores the diversity of restructuring instruments applied to financial institutions in EU countries during the Global Financial Crisis. It investigates the cost of that support before evaluating its effects, as well as providing an extensive analysis of the measures undertaken. The first chapter presents a historical outline, discusses causes of crises, and offers an overview of the restructuring instruments and of how they were used for crisis management before 2007. The following chapters explore the financial environment in the EU before the crisis outbreak, the rescue actions and financial landscape after the events of the crisis. This book offers a critical and thorough analysis of the financial support provided to banks, providing case studies of over 95 banks from 17 EU member states. The authors provide an in-depth study of the pre and post-crisis landscape, and demonstrate that the crisis has by no means been overcome.

There are many different types of convergence within economics, as well as several methods to analyse each of them. This book addresses the concept of real economic convergence or the gradual levelling-off of GDP (gross domestic product) per capita rates across economies. In addition to a detailed, holistic overview of the history and theory, the authors include a description of two modern methods of assessing the occurrence and rate of convergence, BMA-based and HMM-based, as well as the results of the empirical analysis. Readers will have access not only to the conventional econometric approach of convergence but also to an alternative one, allowing for the convergence issue to be expressed in the context of automatic pattern recognition. This approach is universal as it can be adapted to a variety of input data. The lowest aggregation level study investigates regional convergence through the case of Polish voivodships, where convergence towards the leader is tested. On a higher level of aggregation, the authors examine the existence of GDP convergence in such groups as the EU28, North Africa and the Middle East, sub-Saharan Africa, South America, Caribbean, South-East Asia, Australia and Oceania, or post-socialist countries. For each group, the real convergence is tested using the two above-mentioned approaches. The results are widely discussed, broadly illustrated, interpreted, and compared. The analysis allows readers to draw interesting conclusions about the causes of convergence or the drivers behind divergence. The book will stimulate further research in the field, but the research was conducted from the point of view of individual countries.

The book provides in-depth insight into the financial systems in European Economic Area countries, accentuating the role of crises in shaping the condition and development of the financial arena. The authors outline their predictions for the future of financial systems, focusing on the structural changes and legacy of the COVID-19 crisis and global financial interlinkages. The book adopts both theoretical and practical approaches to explore the key issues and as such, will appeal to academics and students of financial economics and international finance, as well as policymakers and financial regulators.

There are many different types of convergence within economics, as well as several methods to analyse each of them. This book addresses the concept of real economic convergence or the gradual levelling-off of GDP (gross domestic product) per capita rates across economies. In addition to a detailed, holistic overview of the history and theory, the authors include a description of two modern methods of assessing the occurrence and rate of convergence, BMA-based and HMM-based, as well as the results of the empirical analysis. Readers will have access not only to the conventional econometric approach of convergence but also to an alternative one, allowing for the convergence issue to be expressed in the context of automatic pattern recognition. This approach is universal as it can be adapted to a variety of input data. The lowest aggregation level study investigates regional convergence through the case of Polish voivodships, where convergence towards the leader is tested. On a higher level of aggregation, the authors examine the existence of GDP convergence in such groups as the EU28, North Africa and the Middle East, sub-Saharan Africa, South America, Caribbean, South-East Asia, Australia and Oceania, or post-socialist countries. For each group, the real convergence is tested using the two above-mentioned approaches. The results are widely discussed, broadly illustrated, interpreted, and compared. The analysis allows readers to draw interesting conclusions about the causes of convergence or the drivers behind divergence. The book will stimulate further research in the field, but the research was conducted from the point of view of individual countries.

This book provides an in-depth analysis of the role of foreign-owned banks for credit growth, financial stability and economic growth in the post-communist European countries. Using data covering 20 countries over the period from 1995 to 2015, the authors analyse the evolution of banking sectors in CESEE after the transformation in the historical context. This helps draw a new picture of the role of financial development and EU accession in that region, being also a lesson for other countries or regions in transition. Additionally, as the Global Financial Crisis has left a stigma in banking sectors, the book shows its impact on the post-communist banking sectors. As the foreign banks dominate the banking sectors in CESEE countries (the stake of foreign-owned banks is below 50% of assets in only five out of 20 countries), their strategies materially impact the development of CESEE banking sectors, which warrants our scientific exploration. Arriving at a clear concluding point of view on the role of foreign-owned banks and providing insights for future policy of CESEEs towards foreign presence in their banking sectors, this book should be of interest to academics, students, and policymakers.