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European Union Financial Regulation, Banking Union, Capital Markets Union and the UK

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Diverging Capitalisms

Abstract

Following the international financial crisis and the sovereign debt crisis , the European Union (EU) undertook major reforms in three key financial policy areas: financial regulation , Banking Union and Capital Markets Union . This chapter examines the dynamics of these reforms by focusing on the preferences and influence of the United Kingdom (UK) in the policy process. It is argued that the UK has played a variety of roles—‘foot-dragger’, ‘fence-sitter’ and ‘pace-setter’—in the policies under discussion. The (at times considerable) British influence was geared towards the attainment of preferences that were shaped by domestic politics and political economy, first and foremost the interests of the financial services industry and the City of London . The final part of the chapter also briefly discusses Brexit and finance .

Part of the material on Banking Union is informed by my joint work with David Howarth (University of Luxembourg) and was funded by a fellowship awarded by the Fonds National de la Recherche in Luxembourg. Part of the material on Brexit and finance was informed by my joint work with Scott James (King’s College, London) and was funded by a fellowship awarded by the Hanse Wissenschafts-Kolleg in Germany. Usual disclaimers apply.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy

    Lucia Quaglia

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  1. Lucia Quaglia
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Correspondence to Lucia Quaglia .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Centre Etudes Europeennes, Universites Science Politique, Paris, France

    Colin Hay

  2. Political Economy Centre, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK

    Daniel Bailey

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Quaglia, L. (2019). European Union Financial Regulation, Banking Union, Capital Markets Union and the UK. In: Hay, C., Bailey, D. (eds) Diverging Capitalisms. Building a Sustainable Political Economy: SPERI Research & Policy. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-03415-3_5

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