Press releases
FBF reaction to the European Commission’s report on banking competitiveness
Europe has strong banks that stand ready to help finance its transformations and ambitions. The European Commission’s Communication finally acknowledges that banking competitiveness has become a strategic issue for the European Union’s economic future. This is a positive signal. The FBF now expects this growing awareness to be translated into reforms that are commensurate with the challenges ahead — concrete and swift reforms that are essential if Europe is to mobilise the massive investments it needs.
The French Banking Federation (FBF) welcomes the publication of the European Commission’s Communication on banking competitiveness. By recognising that banks’ ability to finance the economy is a major issue for sovereignty, growth and competitiveness, the Commission has taken an important step forward and aligned itself with a long-standing position advocated by banks and economic stakeholders across Europe.
This recognition comes at a critical moment. Europe faces annual investment needs estimated at between €1.2 trillion and €1.4 trillion to finance the green transition, digital transformation, defence and reindustrialisation. In this context, banking sector competitiveness is not merely an industry issue; it is a key determinant of Europe’s ability to deliver on its ambitions.
The Communication contains a number of positive orientations, but further concrete measures are still needed in several critical areas: household housing finance, financing for major projects, support for international trade, a more coherent regulatory and supervisory landscape, and the reduction of regulatory gold-plating and country-specific requirements across Europe and within individual Member States.
For the FBF, the time for diagnosis is now over. The next phase, which will focus on the preparation of future European reforms, must turn this analysis into operational decisions. Europe needs an ambitious agenda that finally places financial stability, international competitiveness and the financing of the economy on an equal footing.
The FBF will remain fully committed, alongside representatives from industry, services, the digital sector, housing and the wider business community, to advancing this ambition and helping deliver the reforms needed to finance Europe’s growth.
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