A new financial strategy unveiled by the European Commission—the Savings and Investments Union (SIU)—could be a boost for banks operating across the European Union. Announced in a speech by the Commissioner for Financial Services on 24 March 2025 in Copenhagen, the SIU sets out a comprehensive roadmap to mobilise household savings, deepen capital markets, and strengthen financial integration across the bloc.
At its core, the SIU is designed to unlock Europe’s underutilised savings and redirect them into productive investments. While the strategy encompasses a wide range of financial market reforms, it holds particular promise for the banking sector—from large pan-European institutions to SME-focused lenders.
“Banks are enablers of capital markets. They act as issuers of securities, intermediaries for insurance, and intermediaries for institutional, corporate, and retail investors..”
Among the measures set out are an ambitious regulatory simplification agenda—including a 25% reduction in administrative burdens (35% for SMEs)—and proposals to revive the EU securitisation market, easing banks’ ability to recycle capital and support credit growth. The Commission also pledged to expand access to venture capital, improve exit opportunities for high-growth firms, and attract institutional investors to long-term assets, potentially benefiting banks’ asset management arms.
The SIU also reinforces calls to complete the long-pending Banking Union, including a common European Deposit Insurance Scheme, which would reduce risk fragmentation and improve depositor confidence across Member States.
Banks in Nordic and Western European markets, where retail investment and pension systems are more mature, may gain an early advantage. Danish banks in particular were highlighted for their role in fostering financial literacy and long-term saving—elements central to the SIU’s citizen-focused vision.
For banks seeking growth, scale, or new investment channels, the SIU could open new regulatory pathways while intensifying cross-border competition. While less headline-grabbing than recent Basel or MiFID updates, the initiative may prove one of the most consequential EU financial reforms of the decade.
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