EUROPEAN BANKS ARE PART OF THE SOLUTION

In September, Group CEO Jean Pierre Mustier participated in an online panel discussion on “A Pan-European Response for Economic Recovery.”

Referring to the Covid-19 crisis, he explained that “we are not out of the woods yet, and as European banks it is our job to support all the healthy companies with cash-flow or liquidity issues. In this crisis we, as European banks, are part of the solution”.

Mustier also emphasised that “to ensure Europe’s recovery we must think long-term, because it is about the future of our younger generation. We will do so by investing in education, digitalisation and creation of the jobs of the future. Therefore, targeted investment plans to boost green and digital agendas are needed”.

All panelists agreed that structural reforms at EU level should include completing the Banking and Capital Markets Union. It was discussed that to achieve a medium to long-term recovery can not be done with public funds alone, private capital and savings must also be channelled into investments that support Europe’s economic recovery. It is also important that the continent’s efforts to become more self-sufficient in crucial areas like the pharmaceutical sector are strengthened.

The panel discussion was organised by the European Forum Alpbach, a yearly forum for science, politics, business and culture that normally takes place in the small Alpine village of Alpbach, Austria. This year, because of the Covid-19 pandemic, the forum had to completely reinvent itself. For the first time, it was organised as a 12-day online conference. Discussions focussed on the restart of economies after the pandemic and the fundamentals of our future.