16 November 2015

Second Deloitte CFO European Survey: Greek crisis damaged EMU in non-eurozone states

A second edition of the European CFO survey, gathering opinions from 1,300 chief financial officers from leading companies from 15 countries, highlights concerns about the stability of the euro area.

The authors of the report asked CFOs on how events in Greece have affected the EU’s monetary union in the longer term. Almost one in two CFOs (48%) said recent events have damaged prospects for creating a stable and integrated European monetary union. Only 17% believe the solution of the Greek crisis has improved prospects.

Sentiments are particularly negative in Poland, the only country from Central and Eastern Europe surveyed. Poland is also the largest economy of the new EU members, who have a legal obligation to join the eurozone.

83% of the Polish CFOs, by far the largest proportion among the 15 countries surveyed, said the Greek crisis damaged prospects for achieving a stable and closely integrated European monetary union in the middle term. Only 11% said it had improved prospects, and 7% said it had no effect.

In contrast, the most optimistic CFOs are in France and Italy. Only 23% of French CFOs say the Greek crisis had a negative impact on the Eurozone, with 10% saying it had improved prospects and 67% that it had no effect. In Italy 38% said it had damaged prospects, 29% that it had improved prospects, and 34% that it had no effect. [...]

The European CFO survey covers also several other topics, the overarching theme being the sentiments on Europe’s financial prospects. It finds that sentiment has fallen most in Northern European economies including Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway and the UK. [...]

In contrast, CFOs in Ireland, Italy, Poland, Portugal and Spain are the most optimistic. Capital investment intentions and employment intentions in these countries are stronger than in the Northern economies.

External risks and geopolitics

It also appears that when asked about the top risks to their businesses over the next 12 months, CFOs from across Europe frequently mention the geopolitical risk. [...]

In the UK, a specific risk mentioned by CFOs is the UK referendum on the country’s membership in the EU.

Full article in EurActiv

Full Deloitte report

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