ECB presses ahead with financial integration plan

The European Central Bank will press ahead with plans to boost eurozone financial integration by providing securities settlement services, despite opposition from within the sector, an ECB executive board member has signalled.
Gertrude Tumpel-Gugerell, responsible for eurozone payment systems, told the Financial Times that she was “confident about the rationality of the project”, which would help remove obstacles to cross-border trades in the 12-country eurozone.