Alexander Lehmann
Alexander Lehmann joined Bruegel in 2016 and was a non-resident fellow until 2023. His work at Bruegel focused on EU banking and capital markets, private and sovereign debt issues and sustainable finance.
Alex also heads a graduate programme at the Frankfurt School of Finance and serves as a member of the consultative group on sustainable finance at the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) in Paris.
In numerous past and ongoing advisory roles Alex has worked with EU and emerging market policy makers on capital market development, financial stability and crisis recovery. Until 2016, he was the Lead Economist at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) where he led the strategy and economics unit for central Europe and Baltic countries. Previously, Alex was on the staff of the International Monetary Fund and held positions as Adjunct Professor at the Hertie School of Governance (Berlin) and as Affiliate Fellow at the Royal Institute of International Affairs (Chatham House). He holds graduate degrees from the London School of Economics and the College of Europe, and a D.Phil. in Economics from Oxford University.
His academic, policy and market-related work has generated extensive publications on international finance and regulation. This is regularly presented in teaching, media commentary and industry conferences.
Disclosure of interests
Featured work
The Listing Act: no more than a minor boost to EU equity markets
Streamlining of the company listing process is welcome, but more fundamental reform is needed to revive the European Union’s flagging equity markets.
Mobilising transition finance will require credible corporate climate plans
Many jurisdictions now require companies to demonstrate ‘climate alignment’; investors need tools to evaluate whether transition plans are credible
Joining the dots: climate, nature and the sovereign debt crisis
The event was organised in collaboration with NatureFinance to discuss the correlation between sovereign debt markets and sustainability.
The potential of sovereign sustainability-linked bonds in the drive for net-zero
Sovereign SLBs could help incentivise climate policies in EU countries, and accelerate emission reductions.
Funding the Green Deal: green bonds and alternative options for EU sovereign debt managers
Invitation-only roundtable to discuss the EU public sector green bond market
Geopolitical risks and banking sector vulnerabilities: implications for the SSM
The EU economy is vulnerable and will be increasingly exposed to geopolitical risk arising from the less peaceful course of international relations.
Volatile energy markets expose the fragility of Europe’s capital market infrastructure
Reform of the EU central clearing framework is an essential part of capital markets union, but reform should not be driven by current energy turmoil.
Mobilising EU investors to narrow the developing-country climate-finance gap
The EU needs to address through public and private funds the lack of private climate finance to low- and middle-income countries.
Owning up to sustainability risks: the EU should champion international standards
To keep European Union capital markets open and integrated, new international standards should be reflected in future European law.
Nonperforming Loans in Asia and Europe—Causes, Impacts, and Resolution Strategies
What can we learn from the experiences of Asia and Europe with regard to NPLs during the financial crisis to help us weather future ones?
How to deal with small banks: consolidation, tailoring and the fintech challenge
Small banks face multiple challenges. What structural changes are needed to tackle these pressures?
Country case studies on resolving problem loans in Europe: Crises, policies and institutions
Contribution to 'Nonperforming Loans in Asia and Europe—Causes, Impacts, and Resolution Strategies' published by the Asia Development Bank.
Better sustainability data is still needed to accelerate the low-carbon transition in capital markets
Investors need more trustworthy sustainability data. Regulators should leave space for better products to emerge.
Tailoring prudential policy to bank size: the application of proportionality in the US and euro area
In-depth analysis prepared for the European Parliament's Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs (ECON).
The EU green bond standard: sensible implementation could define a new asset class
The proposed EU green bond standard will be less prone to ‘greenwashing’.
Banks post-Brexit: regulatory divergence or parallel tracks?
Post-Brexit UK bank regulation is not likely to compromise on international standards, but will place greater emphasis on competition.
UK banks in international markets
Implications of UK-euro area divergence in regulation and supervisory practice.
Banks in a net-zero Europe
A net-zero emissions target is a powerful incentive for the low-carbon transition.
Accounting for climate policies in Europe’s sovereign debt market
Sovereign debt will be vital in stimulating sustainable investment, but information is lacking on how green public spending actually is.
Confronting the risks: corporate debt in the wake of the pandemic
As European economies emerge from lockdowns, it is becoming clearer that corporate debt has reached critical levels.
Taking stock of global sustainability reporting
This closed-door event discussed standards for the measurement and disclosure of climate-related exposures.
New EU insolvency rules could underpin business rescue in the COVID-19 aftermath
Corporate bankruptcies are set to rise in the context of COVID-19. EU countries should speed up adoption of recent insolvency reforms.
When and how to unwind COVID support measures to the banking system?
Study of regulatory measures and supervisory practices that have supported public guarantee schemes and moratoria in euro-area countries.
Building back greener: Sustainable finance and the Green Deal
How could additional regulation incentivise investment while upholding the integrity of sustainable finance?
Mobilising equity finance for Europe’s recapitalisation challenge
At this event we will discuss what sources of equity finance can help Europe emerge from the recession.
Green bonds and green finance innovation
Invitation-only event to discuss innovations in green finance and sovereign and EU issuance of green bonds.
Economic recovery after COVID-19 requires a clear vision for a healthy banking sector
The EU framework for crisis management and state aid in the banking sector urgently needs updating.
Common eurobonds should become Europe’s safe asset – but they don’t need to be green
The plan to fund the European Union’s recovery programme via debt issuance has raised hopes of a new type of euro-denominated safe asset.
Emerging Europe and the capital markets union
The European Union's capital market union needs a revamp because of Brexit and the deep recession, and to underpin the European Green Deal.
Private equity and Europe’s re-capitalisation challenge
Companies are struggling in the coronavirus crisis but solvency support provided by the European Union looks likely to be modest.
Climate finance: an agenda for EU coordination with emerging markets
Addressing the challenge of financing the low-carbon transition will require substantial investment in the European Union.
The impact of the crisis on smaller companies and new mechanisms for non-performing loans
The ongoing recession will result in a fresh surge in non-performing loans (NPLs) once payment holidays and moratoria end later this year.
Climate risks to European banks: a new era of stress tests
Several European central banks have begun assessing the impact of adverse climate scenarios on banks’ capital.
European green finance is expanding, a discount on bank capital would discredit it
If EU banks are to mobilise a greater share of loans for sustainable projects they will need a reliable policy framework, clear internal performance t
Impediments to resolvability of banks
This paper gives an overview of the seven aspects of resolvability defined in 2019 by the Single Resolution Board, and then assesses progress in two k
Recovery and Resolution Planning for Europe’s cross-border banks
This workshop will discuss recovery and resolution plans in the CEE countries
Bank regulation in the European Union neighbourhood: limits of the ‘Brussels effect’
The EU model of financial market regulation is increasingly copied by third countries. In this context, the EU’s efforts to promote its model beyond i
Crisis management for euro-area banks in central Europe
Euro-area bank integration has decreased as post-financial crisis national rules require banks to hold more capital at home. It might be undermined fu
The convergence in EU rules for insolvency and enforcement
Progress with the convergence of national insolvency rules is essential for achieving financial integration in the euro area. How much progress has th
EU support for SME IPOs should be part of a broader package that unlocks equity finance
The incoming Commission President has put support for SMEs at the centre of her economic programme. A public-private fund investing in initial public
Croatia’s path into the banking union
Croatia seems a suitable candidate for euro area accession: there is a tight peg to the euro, high public debt is coming down, and the banking sector
European bank resolution plans are undermined by a lack of transparency
The discussions of the now-aborted merger of Germany’s two largest banks underlined supervisors’ concerns over creating banks that are too big or too
Developing resilient bail-in capital
Europe’s largest banks have made progress in issuing bail-inable securities that shelter taxpayers from bank failures. But the now-finalised revision
After the ESM programme: Options for Greek bank restructuring
With the end of the Greece support programme, authorities now have scope to focus on the legacy of NPLs and excess private-sector debt. Two wide-rangi
Equity finance and capital market integration in Europe
Facilitating the financing of European companies through external equity is a central ambition of European Union financial regulation, including in th
Analysis of developments in EU capital flows in the global context
The monitoring and analysis of capital movements is essential for policymakers, given that capital flows can have welfare implications. This report, c
Criteria for entry into the ERMII and the banking union: the precedent from Bulgaria
In its bid to join the single currency Bulgaria has made commitments on financial supervision but also wider structural reform which set a precedent f
Pension funds in the EU capital markets union
At this event, we assessed the prospects for funded pension schemes as a component of balanced retirement savings, and how the regulatory framework co
Cash outflows in crisis scenarios: do liquidity requirements and reporting obligations give the SRB sufficient time to react?
Bank failures have multiple causes though they are typically precipitated by a rapidly unfolding funding crisis. The European Union’s new prudential l
Bank assets and business models: addressing complexity
At this event, we discussed the lack of transparency and problems in valuing correctly significant parts bank assets in the euro area based on an exte
Green bonds: who is to certify ‘sustainability’?
Poland’s issue of a green bond earlier this month was the country’s second financing of this type, and the first ever repeat issue by a sovereign. It
Risk reduction through Europe’s distressed debt market
The resolution of non-performing loans (NPLs), a stock of roughly €870 billion in the EU banking industry, is central to the recovery of Europe’s bank
Analysis of development in EU capital flows in the global context
The monitoring and analysis of capital movements is essential for policymakers, given that capital flows can have welfare implications. This report, c
Accounting for true worth: the economics of IFRS9
The introduction in 2018 of forward-looking provisioning for credit losses in EU banks delivers on a key objective in the post-crisis regulatory agend
Tackling Europe’s crisis legacy: a comprehensive strategy for bad loans and debt restructuring
Years after the start of the financial crisis, non-performing loans and private debt remain obstacles to the recovery of bank credit and investment.
Carving out legacy assets: a successful tool for bank restructuring?
Separating ‘legacy assets’ from banks’ core business is central to the rehabilitation of Europe’s banking system. How can Europe progress in its ongoi
Carving out legacy assets: a successful tool for bank restructuring?
Separating ‘legacy assets’ from banks’ core business is central to the rehabilitation of Europe’s banking system. How can Europe progress in its ongoi
Bruegel conference discusses strategies to tackle Europe’s NPL crisis
Bad loans and private sector debt distress are widely acknowledged to hold back investment and growth in Europe. It was good, then, to hear ECB Vice-P
Tackling Europe’s non-performing loans crisis: restructuring debt, reviving growth
How can we connect the different initiatives for NPL resolution and identify an agenda that is shared between EU, national authorities and the private
Europe’s growth champion: will Poland’s success continue?
An event at which Marcin Piatkowski will present the key messages from a book on Poland that he is writing for Oxford University Press.
Will better insolvency standards help Europe’s debt deleveraging?
Insolvency regimes in the euro area are on the whole costly, lengthy, and recover little value. A new directive proposed by the Commission sensibly ai
Debt restructuring through better insolvency standards
What potential to revive European enterprises?
Can public support help Europe build distressed asset markets?
Distressed asset investors can relieve banks of their NPL overhang and offer valuable restructuring expertise, although banks will need to realise a f
Credit recovery in Spain: NPL resolution was essential, but success depended on broader sector reform
Growth in Spain again exceeded expectations this year, and bank deleveraging appears to have reached an end. Addressing non-performing loans was a pre
Private sector debt matters, and better data means better policy
Private debt is emerging as a central concern in EU policy. However, the Commission’s regular country reports still give more attention to sovereign t
ECB bank supervision cannot tackle debt restructuring single-handedly
The European Central Bank has begun to tackle a key symptom of banking sector fragility with its proposed guidelines on banks’ management of non-perfo