EUROPEAN CAPITAL MARKETS AND THE EMU

Abstract

This paper starts with a short overview of the big structural changes that have affected the European securities markets for the last ten years. Then we briefly present the essential features of some European marketplaces and we focus on the future of capital markets in Europe after the EMU of 1999. It seems that the competition between organised exchanges will be tough although the actual technologies are converging faster than expected. We finally analyse the possible effects on the bond markets with the increasing importance played by credit quality.