The European Commission urged changes in a report on Friday to improve the competitiveness of the bloc's banking sector, laying the political groundwork for what could become a substantial overhaul of EU banking rules to unlock billions in capital.
Despite a decade of progress under the Banking Union, Europe's banking market remains fragmented along national borders. The Commission argues that this limits the banking sector's ability to support businesses and households across the EU.
The report proposes measures to encourage more cross-border banking, simplifying supervisory rules and deepen the integration of EU capital markets through closer links with the Savings and Investments Union. It follows a year-long push from the Commission to simplify rules, which Brussels says will not lead to de-regulation even if the proposals look to scale back rules previously enforced by the European Union.
According to the Commission, removing these barriers could help finance the bloc's estimated €1.2 trillion in annual investment needs, including in clean technology, defence and artificial intelligence.
National authorities could lose some control over banks
