HSBC chief executive, Stuart Gulliver, has identified four essential steps Europe needs to take to ensure the future viability of its currency union. But he said there is still a lack of political will to adopt the measures, notably in Europe's strongest economies, which is causing paralysis in many European markets.

Gulliver referred to the events afflicting European countries such as Greece and Spain as ‘emerging markets' crises akin to those witnessed in Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand