ECB may have to mull options, like larger-scale asset purchases, its president had hoped would stay locked away in Frankfurt filing cabinets

European banks sold loans with a face value of about €27bn in the first six months of 2012 – and look set to smash last year's record €36bn, PwC estimates

Takeover will mark the sector's first consolidation ahead of a planned €50bn recapitalisation of Greece's biggest banks under the terms of its second bailout

Helge Lund, the head of the Norwegian oil group Statoil, hides a fierce ambition behind his reserved exterior, writes Guy Chazan

Cross border lending to weaker EU partners has dropped by nearly a fifth since January to the lowest level since 2005, according to central bank data

As bank and sovereign become more closely tied, lenders in weaker countries have in effect been seen as proxies for problems in the sovereign and vice versa

Second-quarter rise in profits offers good news for investors after the announcement of a delay in the Dutch delivery group's takeover by UPS

Backers say the arrangement would free up capital and leave the specialist insurer better placed to reach deals with larger pension schemes

Average ticket price rises just 4% at airline in first quarter, compared with 16% last year, reflecting customers' unwillingness to spend

Chief is adamant the French ad group is not vulnerable to a takeover and says he expects to still be running the company in a decade

Employees stage a protest against consolidation of the sector following the takeover of state-owned ATEbank by Piraeus Bank

Shares rise after the Franco-German airline forecast that cost cutting will help improve its performance in the second half of the year