Ana BotínCEO of $SAN (-0.09%), demanded during a panel discussion at the #wef2025that governments should create targeted framework conditions to drive economic growth.
"Europe is not a museum, but we are in danger of becoming one. At the same time, many innovations, such as the development of new vaccines, come from Europe. We have many start-ups, but the problem is that they start here and then migrate to the USA."
Also Steven van Rijswijk, CEO of $ING (-1.56%)also sees an excess of banks in Europe as an obstacle to an efficient capital market.
He explained that the creation of a capital markets union with uniform fiscal, monetary and regulatory requirements in the EU could lead to a reduction in the banking landscape in the long term.
"There are too many banks in Europe for an efficient capital system"
He also pointed out the negative effects of fragmented regulations within Europe, which make a uniform banking system more difficult than in the USA.
"There are different regulations in Europe in areas such as anti-money laundering, data protection and cybersecurity"
"These differences hinder efficient cooperation between banks and their customers."
While the USA will begin the gradual introduction of the Basel III capital framework in the second half of 2025 and the Bank of England has postponed its implementation by one year to 2027, the EU already introduced the new framework at the beginning of the year.
This capital framework increases the minimum capital requirements for banks, which makes it more difficult for them to lend and could weigh on profits. Van Rijswijk warned that these differences between jurisdictions could put European banks at a disadvantage in global competition.
