This report examines the banking industry in Europe, which is currently seeing fundamental changes to its environment as a result of increasing EU integration, which has seen a new common currency introduced across 12 European countries, with more likely to be added in the future. At the same time major changes in European society – not least the ageing population – pose major challenges for both governments and the private financial services industry.

This report examines the banking industry in Europe, which is currently seeing fundamental changes to its environment as a result of increasing EU integration, which has seen a new common currency introduced across 12 European countries, with more likely to be added in the future. At the same time major changes in European society – not least the ageing population – pose major challenges for both governments and the private financial services industry.

The banking industry has differing characteristics in different EU countries arising from the varying histories of banking sectors across Europe and the relationship of banks to the state. In some countries, banks have largely been privatised, but in many European countries, public sector banks play a major and sometimes distorting role in the market.

Banks have benefited hugely from economic growth and increasing prosperity in Europe. In faster-growing economies, bank balance sheets have expanded quickly. As a consequence, there is concern amongst European policymakers about the risk of bank failure, and an increasingly tight regulatory approach is addressing this.

Unsurprisingly, there is a great contrast between Western and Eastern Europe in banking terms. Eastern European banking sectors are very small in comparison to their Western European counterparts. However, rising investment and fast economic growth in Eastern Europe, as well as the pressure on Eastern European banks to expand their capacities to deal with flows of EU funds heading eastwards, mean that banking assets in the countries of Central and Eastern Europe are growing quickly.

Aims of the report

This report discusses and analyses these key themes in order to present a comprehensive overview of banking in Europe. Studying the background factors against which the banking sector in Europe is developing, this report offers an explanation of political, economic, social and technological influences on the market

Mintel’s research also considers the place of different European countries in the overall European picture, analysing changes in banking assets and liabilities, providing details of household borrowing and saving, and investigating the differences between banking in eurozone and non-eurozone countries.

Detailed information about the five major European economies is provided: France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK.