Third-country banks capture 60 percent of EU investment banking
Third-country groups now provide 60 percent of corporate and investment banking services to European clients despite historically high bank capital ratios, according to a speech delivered at an industry event in Dublin on September 22, 2026.
Strong buffers cannot mask lost ground
Fifteen years of post-crisis regulatory reforms have placed the European banking sector in a position of strength, leaving CET1 capital ratios and liquidity buffers at historically high levels.
Yet robust balance sheets have not prevented a structural loss of market share.
Third-country institutions now supply 60 percent of corporate and investment banking services to European clients.
To finance strategic priorities like the climate transition, digitalisation and defence, European policymakers must dismantle national barriers that prevent cross-border consolidation and hinder the growth of pan-European banking groups.
Three pillars for European sovereignty
Completing the Banking Union requires delivering on three core priorities.
Beyond reducing domestic fragmentation to support cross-border entities, supervisory frameworks must be simplified without compromising resilience or global level playing fields.
Rules must align with real economy funding demands across the continent.
“Strong fundamentals alone will not suffice to meet Europe's strategic priorities,” the speaker noted, highlighting vulnerabilities in financial sovereignty amid shifting geopolitical dynamics.
Old ambitions, familiar deadlock
The warning over lost market share is overdue, yet the proposed remedies merely rehash long-stalled Banking Union goals.
Member states will not dismantle ring-fencing without shared fiscal backstops.
Broad rhetoric on simplification cannot resolve this fundamental political deadlock.