European Banks Postpone Their Diet
Avoiding cutbacks in lending thanks to ECB money
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European banks pledged last year to cut more than $1.2 trillion of assets—about 3 percent of their total—to help them weather the sovereign-debt crisis. Bank executives said they would sell divisions and loans and rein in lending to reduce short-term funding needs and increase capital. Instead, the banks have grown fatter.
Lenders in the euro area increased assets by 7 percent to €34.4 trillion ($45 trillion) in the year ended July 31, according to data compiled by the European Central Bank. BNP Paribas and UniCredit, the biggest banks in France and Italy, expanded their balance sheets in the 12 months through the end of June.