Some HSBC customers have been prevented from withdrawing large amounts of cash  because they could not provide evidence of why they wanted it, the BBC has learnt. . .

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-25861717#

The head of the European Central Bank, Mario Draghi, says there has been a “dramatic improvement” in the eurozone recovery over the past two years. . .

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-25888931#

Euro-area data this week will probably show the region ended 2013 with a record jobless rate that reveals only part of the social legacy of the debt crisis. . .

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-01-27/euro-jobless-record-seen-in-legacy-of-italians-giving-up.html

Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy can count the social cost of the economy’s slump when data this week show how 2013 was probably the worst year for work in its democratic history . . .

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-01-20/spain-s-worst-year-for-work-leaves-rajoy-counting-cost-of-slump.html

Germany’s top financial regulator said possible manipulation of currency rates and prices for precious metals is worse than the Libor-rigging scandal, which has already led to fines of about $6 billion. . .

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-01-16/metals-currency-rigging-worse-than-libor-bafin-s-koenig-says.html

Bank of America Corp. won’t face damages claims related to its 2009 Merrill Lynch acquisition in a lawsuit filed by the New York Attorney General’s Office. . . .

http://www.businessweek.com/news/2014-01-17/bank-of-america-won-t-face-damages-over-merrill-in-n-dot-y-dot-case-1

Morgan Stanley (MS), which deferred 100 percent of 2012 bonuses for many senior bankers, will pay some portion of awards for last year’s performance in immediate cash, according to a person briefed on the plan. . .

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-01-16/morgan-stanley-said-to-reduce-bonus-deferrals-for-top-bankers.html

UBS AG (UBSN) is boosting annual bonus payments to investment bankers in Asia by about 10 percent for 2013, fueled by higher revenue from arranging sales of stocks and high-yield bonds, according to two people with direct knowledge of the matter . . .

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-01-17/ubs-said-to-boost-bonus-pool-for-asia-investment-bankers-by-10-.html

Deutsche Bank AG, Europe’s biggest investment bank by revenue, reported a surprise fourth-quarter loss, hurt by legal costs and accounting charges. The shares fell as much as 5.3 percent. . .

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-01-19/deutsche-bank-posts-eu1-2-billion-fourth-quarter-pretax-loss.html

http://www.eib.org/infocentre/press/news/all/vienna-initiative-2-0-steering-committee-discussed-priorities-for-2014.htm?media=rss&language=en