Steven van Rijswijk, CEO of a major financial institution, recently appeared on CNBC during the Davos event. During his appearance, he addressed regulatory challenges facing European banks. Van Rijswijk stated, "What we see in Europe is that there’s different regulation on different elements, like anti-money laundering, GDPR, cyber. This hampers us in doing efficient business with our customers, and in the end it also has an impact on customers."
He further elaborated on the competitive disadvantages these regulations pose for European banks compared to their counterparts in other regions. "It impacts the level playing field for European banks compared to banks for example in the US. That needs to change," he remarked.
Van Rijswijk's comments highlight ongoing discussions about regulatory harmonization and its effects on global banking competitiveness.