Published: Sept. 20, 2023 at 4:20 a.m. ET
By Pierre Bertrand
European banks are lagging behind their international competitors, lacking a framework that allows them to better lend funds, facilitate capital market financing and enable growth, according to Deutsche Bank Chief Executive Officer Christian Sewing.
Speaking at the Handelsblatt Banking Summit Wednesday, Sewing said Europe…
By Pierre Bertrand
European banks are lagging behind their international competitors, lacking a framework that allows them to better lend funds, facilitate capital market financing and enable growth, according to Deutsche Bank Chief Executive Officer Christian Sewing.
Speaking at the Handelsblatt Banking Summit Wednesday, Sewing said Europe needs a more efficient and globally competitive financial system, allowing domestic banks to be able to act and protect themselves.
There is also a need for strong institutions to support states and companies in their digital and sustainable transformation, he said.
“I am not saying this out of self-interest: in a world marked by conflict and the formation of blocs, the European economy must not become too dependent on non-European banks,” Sewing said.
Few of Europe’s banks are globally competitive, Sewing noted, pointing to how the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China’s loan book is larger than that of Deutsche Bank Unicredit, Santander, and HSBC combined.
Sewing called for the creation of a European capital markets union and argued that Europe, as bloc, must work on ensuring greater sovereignty and financial autonomy, including much deeper capital markets.
“Last year, we learned a bitter lesson about how wrong it was to rely exclusively on a single, non-European supplier for natural gas. We must not repeat this mistake in the financial sector,” he said.
Write to Pierre Bertrand at [email protected]
