Competitive financing to unlock Europe’s investment potential

Europe’s investment ambitions depend on businesses having access to competitive financing. What framework conditions does the EU banking sector need to help deliver? This question was at the heart of a discussion hosted on 7 October by BusinessEurope and the European Banking Federation, bringing together policymakers, banking leaders and companies.

“Access to finance is a pre-condition for companies to thrive and make the investments necessary to drive growth, maintain competitiveness and provide jobs and prosperity to our citizens,” said our Director General Markus J. Beyrer. He called for urgent proposals to simplify complex and burdensome rules.

European Central Bank Vice-President Boris Vujčić stressed the need for deeper financial integration, while Eurogroup President Kyriakos Pierrakakis called for completing the Banking Union, describing fragmentation as “a tax on investment”. European Commissioner for Financial Services and the Savings and Investments Union, Maria Luís Albuquerque, advocated a holistic approach to simplifying financial rules and integrating markets.

The programme also featured European Banking Authority Chair François-Louis Michaud and perspectives from European banking and business leaders.

Company panellists highlighted practical challenges, including how banks assess risk and the difficulties businesses face in securing financing beyond their domestic markets and obtaining support to scale up their activities.

Closing the event, BusinessEurope Chief Economist Lúcio Vinhas de Souza called for swift, concrete action on financial market integration and burden reduction to strengthen European companies’ competitiveness.