European Commission Approves Bailout of Four Spanish Banks

The European Commission on Wednesday approved a payment of €37 billion, or $48 billion, from the euro zone bailout fund to four Spanish banks on the condition that they lay off thousands of employees and close offices as part of their restructuring.

Rebuilding Through Reform: How to Ensure Global Financial Stability

While policymakers are busy trying to mitigate the damage of the recent financial crisis, they also need to be thinking ahead to the next crisis. Esther L. George, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, urges policymakers to ask what really went wrong last time — and what can be done to build a more resilient financial system for the future.

Unicredit shares fall on rights issue concerns

Italian bank Unicredit fell sharply on the Milan stock exchange after it announced the details of a 7.5bn euro ($9.8bn; £6.3bn) sale of new shares.