Deutsche Bank chief executive Christian Sewing made an impassioned justification of the value of large European banks at Euromoney’s annual Awards for Excellence ceremony on July 12.
Sewing, who is also president of the European Banking Federation, said volatility and uncertainty in the macroeconomy and in financial markets – coupled with the challenges of climate transition and digitalization – means that clients are increasingly reliant on strong banks, including in Europe. But he also issued a warning that spoke to the growing dominance of US investment banks in the continent, as many homegrown European investment banks have retrenched over the past decade.
“Banking has become an ever-more strategic function,” Sewing said. “For me, this also means that no economy should be reliant only on foreign financial institutions. Economies need their own strong banks.”
Europe needs regional alternatives to other global banks if it wants to strengthen its strategic sovereignty
Sewing took to the stage at the ceremony when Euromoney named him banker of the year for his success in turning Deutsche around.
