European bank bosses eager for M&A as U.S. deals expected to take off | Real Time Headlines

European banking leaders want more deal activity on the continent as U.S. M&A activity is expected to increase under the new Trump administration.

Steven van Rijswijk, CEO INGABN Amro, the Netherlands’ largest bank, said the excessive number of European banks was exacerbating the inefficiencies of the EU financial system.

“I think there are too many banks in Europe to have an efficient capital system,” he told CNBC at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

His comments come amid speculation about whether UniCredit BankEurope’s sixth-largest bank by market capitalization will be allowed to CommerzbankGermany’s second largest bank.

The Italian bank holds a stake in the German lender through agents and is awaiting approval from the European Central Bank to increase its stake. If allowed, it would have been one of the biggest cross-border deals for European banks in years, but it ran into political headwinds.

CEOs slam regulators The EU believes that regulation is excessive as global competition intensifies. Many worry that the United States will pave the way for its companies to go global by lowering barriers, while the European Union instills more rules.

The CEO of ING Bank also said that fragmented laws across Europe have hindered the improvement of the efficiency of the banking system, which is in sharp contrast to the United States.

“We also see that Europe has different regulations for different elements,” van Rijswijk said. “There are differences in Europe when it comes to anti-money laundering, GDPR or cyber, which hinder effective ways for banks to do business with their customers.”

“I believe that consolidation will mainly occur within individual markets due to regulatory fragmentation,” he added.

However, UBS CEO Sergio Ermotti UBSThe company, which operates a large wealth management unit in the United States, said that while U.S. authorities are unlikely to loosen rules for large banks, the policy stance taken by regulators under the new Trump administration could lead to conflicts among several smaller banks. trading recovery.

“The first thing that will be allowed is probably the consolidation between secondary banks in the United States. Some rationalization in that regard. And that in turn will create opportunities,” Ermotti told CNBC in Davos.

“I don’t believe we’re going to see a lot of deregulation,” Ermotti added. Forced takeover of rival Credit Suisse. But he said he did hope existing regulations could be “rationalized.”

Jose Viñals, Chairman Standard Chartered Banksaid he hoped Europe would adopt “thoughtful” deregulation rather than one Watering down the rules for the sake of it.

“I think some thoughtful deregulation might be good for other parts of the world as well. I’m thinking of the European Union,” Vinals told CNBC. Standard Chartered Bank It is a London-listed bank but makes most of its profits in Asia.

“This will have a positive impact on economic growth. But we know these policies are difficult to implement, but not impossible,” he added.

Likewise, CEO Adena Friedman Nasdaqsaid Europe is unlikely to see the benefits of a Capital Markets Union – a unified capital regulatory framework like the US – unless smaller regulators cede power to pan-European regulators.

Friedman told a CNBC audience in Davos that Europe “has layers of regulation.”

The Nasdaq boss said Europe must decide “which elements of society and communities must be regulated by national regulators and which elements need to be regulated by regional regulators”. In addition to New York, the company operates stock exchanges in Sweden, Denmark, Finland and Iceland.

“There is national regulation and regional regulation. That has to change,” she said. “It’s very solvable, it’s just a matter of will.”