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The purpose is to analyse how the policy approach to the immediate problems in the European financial sector has long-term effects on implicit protection of banks' creditors and, thereby, on risk-taking incentives.

The near term issues in European banking are discussed within a framework for long-term reform along the lines proposed for a European banking union.

The author advocates conducting a thorough stress test with potential consequences for unsecured creditors of banks proven to be insolvent. Losses may have to be imposed on these creditors, following the example of recent cases in Cyprus and in The Netherlands.

There is widespread consensus among international policy makers that the European banking system is seriously undercapitalized. Unlike the USA, Europe failed to recapitalize its biggest banks following the financial crisis of 2007-2009. It is now urgent to start recognizing losses on balance sheets to avoid a proliferation of Japanese-style zombie banks in Europe.

Mergers are big, risky business and they frequently fail. This article reviews the literature around managing human resource management (HRM) risk in a merger. It finds that poor merger results are often attributed to HRM and organisational problems, and that several factors related to maintaining workforce stability are identified as important in managing HRM risk. Gaps are exposed in the extensive merger focused literature, particularly its lack of consideration of the role of unions and different employment relations policy approaches. The New Zealand‐based banking merger of Westpac and TrustBank is used to illustrate and explore the impact of union involvement alongside HRM initiatives, and to extend Guest's employment relations policy choices taxonomy. This article contributes an important additional dimension to a theory of managing HRM risk in a merger.

Islamic and cooperative banks – including credit unions – are broadly similar in that they both share risk with savers. However, risk sharing goes along with ownership control in cooperatives, whilst Islamic banks share risk with borrowers also, and full downside risk with depositors. Islamic banking is consistent with mutual ownership, which may ease some of the governance and efficiency concerns implied by Shari’ah constraints. Greater risk sharing among cooperative bank stakeholders, along the lines of products offered by Islamic banks, may strengthen cooperatives’ financial resilience.

In the euro’s initial years, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Portugal and Spain observed capital flow bonanzas and credit-booms, two cycles known to precede banking crises. Domestic banks fuelled those cycles via funding obtained from foreign financial institutions. Yet, these countries’ banking and financial crises have unfolded in different modes. In Ireland and Spain, credit-booms propelled real-estate bubbles, which dragged banks into crises, with governments’ accounts later being affected when rescuing banks (Spanish regional banks, and all Irish major banks). In Greece and Italy, extra monetary means perpetuated government imbalances (e.g. debt levels above 100% of GDP, large yearly deficits). More severely in Greece, banks were brought into crises by sovereign crises. In Portugal, a mixture of private and public sector–led crises have occurred. Our comparative study finds that these crises: (1) are connected to shocks and imbalances caused by dangerous banking sector cycles during the monetary integration process; (2) were not mere expansions of the US subprime crisis; (3) were not only caused by country-specific features and institutions; and (4) followed distinct paths, therefore, a uniform model encompassing all post-euro crises cannot exist.

Service quality in the USA has become a frustrating and unsatisfying experience. Recent indicators suggest customer satisfaction with service has been steadily declining. The financial services sector is no exception. Existing research indicates credit union customers are more satisfied with service quality than bank customers. Current studies also suggest service quality and employee satisfaction are linked to customer satisfaction. Surveys were administered to bank and credit union employees about service quality they receive from their managers. The results did not support the study’s hypothesis that credit union managers would receive higher scores than bank managers. However, the results and implications are important for researchers and practitioners interested in improving service quality at banks and credit unions.

Questions whether the planned European Monetary Union is capable of solving the social economic challenges of our time. Examines the economic and financial history of modern times; explains the formulation of the impossibility theorem in practice, suggesting the equation of unified knowledge as a solution to the problem of economic calculation; and constructs a plan for a free and stable European Monetary and Economic Union. Looks at the provisions of the Maastricht Treaty (1992) questioning its ability to solve the basic problems of the member states of the European Union. Addresses a number of issues contained within the Treaty: acceptable socially beneficial goals; unacceptable socially harmful, adverse anti‐equilibrium means, policies, reforms and regulations; and the phenomenon of physics’ ‘chain reaction’ within economics. Gives a synopsis of anti‐equilibrium elements and forces in the Treaty of Maastricht, debating what needs to be done to ensure that European Monetary and Economic Union can become an immediate and lasting success.

At the time of going to press, reverberations from the violent debate triggered by the so‐called ‘Bullock Report’, published in January 1977, were still considerable. The ‘Report of the Committee of Inquiry on Industrial Democracy’ (to give it its full title) contained, in its main report, certain far‐reaching proposals for employee participation in British industry. It also contained (a) a four‐page note of dissent by one of the seven signatories to the Majority Report and (b) a three‐man Minority Report which ran to almost 30 pages.