Leaders from eleven top European banks - including Banco Santander SA, BNP Paribas SA, Barclays Plc and UBS Group AG - have teamed up to press for faster movement on the European Union's bank rule overhaul. Addressing top policymakers including Ursula von der Leyen, the European Commission President, and Christine Lagarde, the European Central Bank President, the CEOs contended that Europe's sizable financing demands warrant an immediate stop to additional capital hikes until wider reforms are put together.
"With loss-absorbing capacity of EU banks at historic highs - €2.5 trillion ($2.9 trillion) and counting - stop the tide of ever-increasing capital requirements," the bankers said in the letter, according to a copy seen by Bloomberg. "Only a banking system with greater lending capacity can move at the speed Europe needs."
Worries that Europe is slipping behind the US and China are sharpening calls for bolder steps, with some pointing to deregulation under the Trump administration as a contrast. The group is urging that EU supervisors receive a competitiveness mandate, mirroring the power the UK handed its regulators in 2023. The EU's high level banking reform blueprint published in July did not recommend that move.
That July plan laid out ways to free capital stuck within national borders by finally completing a common deposit guarantee scheme, simplifying capital rules and making other changes. EU officials are aiming to secure agreement on one comprehensive package by the end of March next year. The bank chiefs are urging that the integration components be carved out to "deliver key funding flexibility in the short term," while the rest is addressed over a longer period. They added that both tracks ought to be put forward by the start of 2027.
In changing financial landscapes, steady habits help protect and grow your savings. Join Briefs Finance CEO Jaspreet Singh on September 29th for a FREE live investor workshop, How to Profit From A Dollar That's Losing its Value, where he shows how we're spotting investment opportunities as the dollar falls. Save your spot.
The push lands just ahead of next week's State of the Union by Ursula von der Leyen and a meeting of EU finance ministers in Dublin. The letter frames the urgency starkly: "Slow growth, an unstable geopolitical order, wildfires across the continent, the lowest gas reserves for 14 years, and the race to rebuild defense capacity and compete in critical technologies: these challenges are converging, and Europe cannot meet them without urgent and structural action to strengthen its economy." The executives also called for deeper ties with the UK and Switzerland, including leader-level bilateral dialogues.
If not, capital may keep pooling in national silos and lending could stay tight. The direction Europe chooses here will shape borrowing costs, investment pace and how quickly the region's economy grows from your point of view on the ground.
Savvy investors tune out headlines and stick to a plan for growth. Our CEO Jaspreet Singh is hosting a FREE live investor workshop, How to Profit From A Dollar That's Losing its Value, on September 29th. Sign up free to join him live.
