Donald Trump’s return to the White House has added to hopes that European officials will lean more towards policies that are favourable to banks, so they can better compete with the Americans.
Calls for a softer stance on banks were already growing in Europe before Trump’s second term. European banking leaders speaking to Euromoney say financial policymakers are increasingly listening to their calls on the need to help banks boost the continent’s sovereignty – both in military and financial terms – amid Trumpian isolationism and economic protectionism.
Trump’s return, among other things, has brought a new impetus for deregulation in the US, which European bankers fear has little regard for a level playing field.
“There’s an underlying feeling that Europe needs to step up,” says Jens Henriksson, chief executive of Swedbank, one of Scandinavia’s biggest banks, speaking to Euromoney on the sidelines of an Institute of International Finance (IIF) conference in Brussels in late March.
In search of an edge beyond banking
An important part of European banks hopes for a more supportive regulatory stance lies in a regulatory device called the Danish Compromise.
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