Banken: US-Konkurrenz enteilt Europas Großbanken

The analysis by consultancy firm EY reveals that despite strong performance, the US banking sector continues to outperform its European counterparts in the first half of the year. While the top ten European banks managed to grow their combined profit by 21% compared to the previous year, their US rivals saw a 42% increase. According to EY, the ten largest European institutions reported a combined net profit of around 58.7 billion Euros, while the top ten US banks recorded nearly double that, at about 110.6 billion Euros, setting a record for the first six months of the last decade.

EY partner Ralf Eckert stated that all examined banks benefited from an exceptionally strong half-year period. However, he also noted that the US advantage is growing and remains substantial. US banks, according to Eckert's assessment, could potentially capitalize on a favorable environment for IPOs with sustained high trading revenues, which European counterparts are unable to replicate. Consequently, the profit gap between the two regions may continue to widen.

Gunther Tillmann, an EY partner, suggested that indiscriminate mergers are not the answer to the increasing consolidation pressure in Europe. The differences in profit structure, with a strong focus on interest income and the capitalization of European banks, must be maintained. In terms of earnings, JPMorgan Chase emerged as the clear leader among the examined banks, generating a pre-tax income of nearly 42 billion Euros and a total profit of around 33 billion Euros after taxes.

The largest European bank by profit was HSBC, with pre-tax earnings of about 17.1 billion Euros and net profit of 13.4 billion Euros after taxes. Deutsche Bank, the only German institution among the top 20, achieved a first-half profit of about 5.7 billion Euros before taxes and 3.6 billion Euros after taxes for its shareholders.

European banks have improved their profitability, with the return on equity (RoE) increasing from 10.5% to 12.3% in European banks and from 11.3% to 15% in US banks, indicating more efficient capital utilization for generating profits.