By admin 
Constructing on a worthwhile and dynamic 2023, when excessive rates of interest buoyed financial institution lending margins, most Western European banks had a powerful 2024, ending the 12 months with a spurt in internet earnings and income progress. Many elevated their deal with sustainable finance (with inexperienced bonds as a serious progress space), diversified their income streams, and invested in new banking know-how—modernizing present apps and exploring new prospects.
Wholesome profitability was significantly notable amongst bigger banks with an in depth department community and powerful franchises, and amongst banks in Southern and Southeastern Europe with massive shares of the native market. As well as, banks benefited from robust investor sentiment. In keeping with world consultancy EY, between the fourth quarter of 2023 and the fourth quarter of 2024, European financial institution shares rose 18%, “outperforming US banks and broader European indices by 10 share factors.”
EY identified that the robust underlying place of most European banks earlier within the 12 months enabled them to face a altering outlook towards year-end. There was a powerful uptick in geopolitical uncertainty and market volatility, serving to to bolster buying and selling revenues, which had been up throughout the board in Western Europe. Rates of interest fell in some instances, and rates of interest will proceed to fall into 2025.
Wealth administration and funding banking had been progress areas, in accordance with Nigel Moden, banking and capital markets lead at EY. “Funding banking revenues at [European banks] reached their highest ranges since 2009, pushed by broad-based energy throughout fee-generating actions and buying and selling operations. M&A and IPO charges elevated by 32% in comparison with 2023, though they continue to be beneath their 10-year averages,” he posted on EY’s web site.
On the finish of 2024, the European Central Financial institution (ECB) printed its annual Supervisory Overview and Analysis Course of, with the authors concluding that the banks of the euro space—into which most of this 12 months’s winners fall—remained resilient in 2024. “On common, banks maintained stable capital and liquidity positions, properly above regulatory necessities,” they conclude. “The mixture Frequent Fairness Tier 1 (CET1) ratio stood at 15.8% in mid-2024, which is a slight enchancment in contrast with the earlier 12 months. The leverage ratio elevated barely to five.8%. Greater rates of interest continued to maintain banks’ profitability.”
In just a few notes of warning, they add that “considerations round banks’ governance, threat administration—together with local weather and nature-related dangers—and operational resilience persist and require swift remediation as a result of unsure threat setting.”
Regional Winner
Gonzalo Gortazar, CEO, CaixaBank
Greatest Financial institution in Western Europe | CAIXABANK
CaixaBank has repeated its win of the Greatest Financial institution in Western Europe award and Greatest Financial institution in its house nation, Spain. The nation’s third-largest financial institution, with property of €631 billion (about $657 billion), has a broad worldwide illustration; however its focus continues to be home. The financial institution holds spectacular positions in key shopper segments, together with 23.4% of shopper lending, virtually 25% of shopper deposits, 23.7% of funding funds, and 34.3% of pension plans. Given Spain’s robust financial efficiency, this home emphasis has helped play into earnings—final 12 months, these had been almost €5.8 billion, up 20.2% on 2023’s greater than €4.8 billion—whereas gross earnings was virtually €15.9 billion, up 11.5% from 2023. Internet curiosity earnings in 2024 was up virtually 10% at €11.1 billion, and return on fairness (ROE) reached 15.4% from 13.2% in 2023. In December, Fitch Scores upgraded the financial institution to A-, citing Spain’s improved working setting and the financial institution’s improved profitability and asset high quality.
CaixaBank has completed its integration of the Spanish stateowned Bankia, with which it merged in 2021. Associated synergies have helped CaixaBank cut back prices relative to earnings: In 2024, the financial institution’s cost-income ratio stood at 38.5% in opposition to 2023’s 40.9%. Asset high quality improved, with the nonperforming mortgage ratio in 2024 standing at 2.6%, beneath the goal of three% and down from 2023’s 2.7%.
Spain loved a few of the quickest financial progress within the eurozone in 2024, a standout 12 months for the financial institution’s wealth administration enterprise. Revenues totaled €1.8 billion, up 12.1%, and wealth administration balances rose strongly by 11.7% to €263.3 billion. Internet inflows to mutual funds, financial savings insurance coverage, and pension plans continued to develop strongly. Because of this, CaixaBank prolonged its market-share management in wealth administration, claiming 29.5% of the market and widening the hole with its opponents.
Between 2021 and the top of 2024, CaixaBank mobilized almost €86.8 billion in sustainable finance, far exceeding its unique goal of €64 billion. The financial institution continues to press ahead with formidable sustainable banking targets, mobilizing almost €36 billion in 2024 alone.
Ranking businesses have acknowledged the energy and flexibility of CaixaBank’s enterprise mannequin. Towards the top of 2024, Fitch and S&P every upgraded the financial institution’s credit score scores, citing the financial institution’s sound funding and liquidity. Fitch highlights CaixaBank’s “diversified enterprise mannequin [which] underpins its resilience by way of financial cycles” and its “threat management framework and limits [which] are complete, sound and commensurate with its enterprise mannequin.” Fitch additionally praises the financial institution’s “sound and resilient profitability,” noting that it’ll additional profit from “greater enterprise volumes and powerful earnings era from wealth administration and insurance coverage.”
Nation, Territory and District Winners
Andorra | CREAND CREDIT ANDORRA
Returning for the fifth time in a row because the Greatest Financial institution in Andorra, Credit score Andorra has totally built-in Vall Banc, the acquisition of which was accomplished three years in the past. The financial institution is now extensively often called Creand Credit score Andorra. With over €51.7 billion beneath administration, revenue elevated by over 60% to just about €71.3 million in 2024.
Austria | UNICREDIT BANK AUSTRIA
Internet earnings for this 12 months’s Austrian winner, UniCredit Financial institution Austria, had been up 14.2% over 2024, reaching roughly €1.3 billion. This seals a really passable 12 months for the establishment, whose whole property now stand at round €105.3 billion. Within the 12 months through which Financial institution Austria celebrated 20 years as a part of the UniCredit group, the financial institution consolidated its main place in company banking, wealth administration, and personal banking. With an in depth community of over 104 branches throughout Austria, it has change into the nationwide chief in cell banking, with utilization now at 63%, properly above the market common of 55%. Already, 21% of Financial institution Austria prospects see themselves as digital-only customers, in comparison with the market common of 15%.
Belgium | BNP PARIBAS FORTIS
BNP Paribas Fortis has earned its award because the Greatest Financial institution in Belgium after a formidable and rewarding 12 months. This continued into early 2025 when the financial institution launched the most recent model its Straightforward Banking App. It allows customers to take a look at their monetary actions in actual time and cargo their actions with different banking teams (like ING, Belfius, or KBC) by way of the app. The financial institution labored with Swedish fintech firm Tink to develop the app.
Cyprus | BANK OF CYPRUS
With property of just below €26 billion, the Financial institution of Cyprus—the first beneficiary of Cyprus’ 2012-14 monetary disaster—had one other nice 12 months, with preliminary outcomes for 2024 suggesting a 4% improve in after-tax earnings to a document €508 million. The Financial institution of Cyprus is a key monetary actor on the island: The financial institution now has 38% of deposits and 43% of loans, whereas its digital gross sales platform Genius allows seamless connection of its prospects and companies with suppliers and different corporations. In a strategic repositioning, the Financial institution of Cyprus—whose market capitalization is now €2.3 billion—has moved its itemizing from the London to the Athens Inventory Trade.
Denmark | DANSKE BANK
Danske Financial institution—our winner in Denmark—consolidated its lead over home rivals, reporting whole property of over 3.7 trillion Danish kroner (about $518 billion) by the top of 2024 with stable outcomes, constructing on 2023’s restoration. For 2024, the financial institution reported internet earnings of 23.6 billion kroner, up 11.1%; and whole earnings of 56.4 billion kroner, up 7.8%. ROE in 2024 was 13.4% in opposition to 2023’s 12.7%.
Finland | NORDEA
The Greatest Financial institution in Finland, Nordea, which has benefitted from the nation’s membership within the European Single Market, additional consolidated its dominance of the sector with whole property value €623.4 billion, up €39 billion in 2023, and a virtually 62.7% market share (primarily based on whole property). The financial institution’s 2024 working revenue was over €6.5 billion, up 2.5% 12 months on 12 months.
France | BNP PARIBAS
BNP Paribas received this 12 months’s award as Greatest Financial institution in France, regardless of sluggish progress in its industrial and retail operations in 2024, reflecting the broader financial image in France. Nevertheless, the division rebounded within the last quarter, recording progress of 4.7%. A revival in funding banking helped the financial institution to elevate its earnings by greater than 15% within the fourth quarter. The financial institution, France’s largest lender, stated it will launch a brand new strategic plan to spice up the profitability of its home enterprise, rising the profitability of business and private banking in France to the extent of the broader group. Progress at BNP is predicted to be boosted by the mixing of Axa Funding Managers, acquired from French insurer Axa final 12 months in a €5.1 billion deal.
Germany | COMMERZBANK
For our German winner, Commerzbank, Germany’s thirdlargest financial institution, final 12 months was large, with property of €555 billion in 2024. Its internet earnings hit a document €2.7 billion, an increase of 20% over 2023 and a rise of greater than 50% from 2022. The financial institution goals to extend its internet consequence to €4.2 billion by 2028. With its upgraded “Momentum” technique, Commerzbank has set considerably more-ambitious targets than earlier than, focusing strongly on small companies and on non-public prospects and wealth administration. The return on tangible fairness (ROTE) is predicted to enhance to fifteen% by 2028. Which means the financial institution will earn considerably greater than its price of capital and be a well-established participant among the many profitable European banks.
The financial institution entered 2025 preventing a hostile bid from our Italian winner, UniCredit. The latter acquired ECB approval in March to up its stake within the German financial institution to 29.9%. Nevertheless, UniCredit has indicated it’s going to in all probability wait till 2026 earlier than saying its future technique.
Greece | EUROBANK
The winner as Greatest Financial institution in Greece, Eurobank, has earned the title after a formidable 2024. With an enormous worldwide presence in Bulgaria, the UK, Luxemburg, and Cyprus, Eurobank Holdings had property of almost €100 billion, as of September 2024. The financial institution reported internet earnings of €1.45 billion in 2024, up 27% on 2023. In early 2025 it accomplished the acquisition of a further 37.5% of Hellenic Financial institution in Cyprus, bringing its whole holding near 100%. The entity is to be merged with Eurobank Cyprus to compete in opposition to Financial institution of Cyprus, the opposite principal financial institution on the island.
Eurobank argues that its enterprise success displays its wide selection of actions, together with “egg” (enter, develop, go), a enterprise startup plan geared toward small and midsize enterprises and now the second-largest such scheme in Japanese Europe. One other financial institution initiative is Commerce Corridors, a “phygital” enterprise community geared toward serving to Greek companies find and do enterprise with potential world companions.
Iceland| LANDSBANKINN
Iceland’s largest financial institution, Landsbankinn returns because the Greatest Financial institution in Iceland for a second consecutive 12 months. Holding some 40% of the home retail market, revenue in 2024 was 37.5 billion Icelandic krónur (about $271 million) after taxes, up from 33.2 billion krónur in 2023. ROE in 2024 was 12.1%, lending was up 10.8%, and buyer deposits elevated by 17.2%. The Good Financial savings app noticed buyer utilization rise by virtually 40% final 12 months.
Eire | AIB
Allied Irish Financial institution (AIB) has earned the title of Greatest Financial institution in Eire for the second 12 months in a row. It delivered a powerful 2024 efficiency with a revenue after tax of €2.35 billion, a 26.7% ROTE, and whole 2024 distributions to shareholders of €2.6 billion. Buoyed by a vibrant economic system, new lending grew by 17% to €14.5 billion, whereas the client base reached its highest stage at 3.35 million.
Italy | UNICREDIT
Our winner in Italy, UniCredit had one other spectacular 12 months, with full-year internet revenue up 2% to succeed in €9.7 billion. Internet income grew 4% to €24.2 billion, up 4% fiscal 12 months over fiscal 12 months, pushed by charges at €8.1 billion, up 8% on the 12 months, reflecting robust consumer exercise and broad product providing to the financial institution’s greater than 15 million prospects throughout Europe. The financial institution is firmly dedicated to sustainability and different environmental, social, and governance ideas. UniCredit seeks to spice up digitalization throughout the group. Fitch upgraded the financial institution to BBB+ in October 2024.
The record-breaking efficiency marked the sixteenth consecutive quarter of sustainable, worthwhile progress. This displays the potential unlocked in the course of the preliminary section of the UniCredit Unlocked transformation plan. UniCredit grew to become a novel pan-European mannequin more and more lively in Central and Japanese Europe and in Germany. Diversified charges and high-quality internet income progress, excessive natural capital era, robust ROTE, and beneficiant whole distributions have all set the trail for UniCredit to enter its subsequent acceleration section from 2025 to 2027. As 2025 acquired underway, UniCredit Italy is reported to have purchased a stake in insurance coverage large Generali Group and to be individually attempting to take over Milan lender Banco BPM, through which each teams additionally personal a stake.
Liechtenstein | LGT
Liechtenstein’s LGT, the principality’s largest financial institution, owned wholly by the royal household, has had a superb few years. It began 2024 with greater than 58.1 billion Swiss francs (over $64 billion) in property. To spice up its asset administration enterprise in Austria, LGT is on the lookout for acquisition alternatives in Switzerland and Germany.
Luxembourg | SPUERKEESS (BCEE)
Spuerkeess (BCEE) returns because the Greatest Financial institution in Luxembourg for the fourth consecutive 12 months. Higher often called Banque et Caisse d’Epargne de l’Etat, state owned and established in 1856, BCEE has dominated banking within the duchy for many years and at present controls round 50% of the retail banking and mortgage market. BCEE efficiently issued a €500 million 6NC5 senior most popular inexperienced bond on March 12, marking a big milestone in its capital markets technique. The bond, which was oversubscribed 3.6 occasions and issued beneath BCEE’s newly launched Inexperienced Bond Framework, will probably be listed on the Luxembourg Inventory Trade.
Malta | HSBC
HSBC takes house the award for the Greatest Financial institution in Malta after a document 2023 through which pretax earnings rose 141% to €133.9 million on the again of elevated internet curiosity margins and better earnings from its insurance coverage subsidiary. Final 12 months, the financial institution posted one other pretax revenue improve, of 15% to €154.5 million, and ROE was barely up at 17.5% in opposition to 17.1% in 2023. Buyer deposits elevated by €16.8 million to virtually €6.2 billion as of December 31, 2024. Administration attributes the rise in earnings to progress throughout all income strains, primarily as a result of greater rates of interest, elevated buyer exercise, and better insurance coverage subsidiary outcomes. HSBC Malta’s robust efficiency hasn’t gone unnoticed; takeover talks had been within the air. Nevertheless, authorities officers had been stated to be opposed, arguing that Malta wants extra quite than much less competitors amongst its banks.
Monaco | CFM INDOSUEZ WEALTH MANAGEMENT
Monaco’s CFM Indosuez Wealth Administration, owned primarily by Credit score Agricole, has received the laurels because the Greatest Financial institution in Monaco. The principality’s main industrial financial institution, serving two out of three companies—unsurprisingly, given its historical past and placement—places wealth administration middle stage. Nevertheless, it additionally launched its StartUp Connections final 12 months, a digital platform providing simplified entry to a world community of startups in Monaco, Belgium, Luxembourg, and Switzerland.
Netherlands | ING
Our Dutch winner, ING, with over 60,000 staff serving 40 million prospects globally, is acquainted to anybody who does enterprise with or visits the Netherlands. Over 2024, the financial institution consolidated its place as market chief. World property reached roughly €1 trillion, however annual internet earnings for the 12 months got here in beneath market expectations at €6.4 billion. Earnings is predicted to carry regular this 12 months on the again of falling rates of interest, in accordance with CEO Steven van Rijswijk, who says the financial institution is on the lookout for acquisitions this 12 months to assist enhance general efficiency.
All through 2024, the financial institution stated it will improve deal with wholesale, private, and personal banking. In March 2025, ING introduced that it had reached an settlement with Reggeborgh Groep on the acquisition of a 17.6% stake in Van Lanschot Kempen, a specialist wealth supervisor serving non-public, institutional, and funding banking shoppers, working predominantly within the Netherlands and Belgium. With an present 2.7% stake, ING will maintain a 20.3% stake in Van Lanschot Kempen after the completion of the transaction.
ING has additionally reiterated its dedication to its local weather objectives, advising shoppers that it’ll both limit or cease offering finance, on a case-by-case foundation, to corporations that fail to deal with their carbon footprint. This stands in sharp distinction to many different monetary establishments which have loosened some local weather targets.
Norway | DNB
Last year was a good year to be a banker in the Nordic region, with improvements in asset quality and overall performance driven by a broadly benign economic environment and market dominance for the key players. The Norwegian winner, DNB, had another solid year as the leading bank in Norway with a year-end market capitalization of 336 billion Norwegian kroner (about $29.7 billion), up from 328 billion kroner in 2023; and post-tax profits of 45.8 million kroner, up on 2023’s approximately 39.5 million kroner, a result reflecting Norway’s GDP growth of 2.1% last year against just 0.1% in 2023.
Portugal | BANCO SANTANDER TOTTA
The winner for Portugal, Banco Santander Totta, is the third-largest bank in the country by assets (€56 billion), with some 4.7 million customers. Its net profits for last year were up again, by 10.7% over 2023, to reach €990 million, an impressive reflection on the bank’s performance and Portugal’s ongoing economic recovery. The bank actively courts the youth market, offering work cafes, and is well ahead of competitors in its digital offerings. However, it has not forgotten seniors, launching a new health insurance product for them. Fitch gives Banco Santander Totta the Portuguese bank sector’s highest score, A.
Sweden | SWEDBANK
Swedbank, the country’s third-largest domestic bank, is the winner in Sweden on the back of solid results: After-tax profits for 2024 were up 2.2% to 34.1 billion kronor (about $3.1 billion), while total assets reached 3 trillion kronor, with 7.4 million private customers.
Switzerland | UBS
UBS returns for the fifth year in a row as the Best Bank in Switzerland and reflects another strong year—the complex takeover of Credit Suisse is now almost complete—in which it increased its local market share by 40% and became the world’s largest wealth management bank. The bank’s 2024 net profits were $5.1 billion, lower than the previous year but better than expected—an otherwise normal year but impacted by the ongoing Credit Suisse integration. UBS plans to buy back $1 billion of shares in the first half of 2025 and up to $2 billion in the second if there are no “material and immediate changes” to Swiss capital rules that the authorities are considering to require UBS to hold more capital.
UK | HSBC
On the back of impressive group results, HSBC wins the Best Bank in the UK award. The Group, which reports in dollars, posted a post-tax profit increase of $400 million over the previous year to $25 billion, and total group assets topped $3 trillion by the end of 2024. Last year saw several initiatives in the UK market. These included the launch of Flexipay, which lets consumers spread the cost of a large point-of-sale purchase at one of the bank’s merchant partners, whether or not the customer has an existing HSBC relationship; the relaunch of the bank’s fee-free Premier Account; and the debut of new benefits for its Premier World Elite credit card. HSBC UK also revealed its plans to double assets under management to £100 billion ($134 billion) by 2028.
So, it was another strong year for Western Europe’s leading banks. Most have positioned themselves well for 2025; although with rising geopolitical uncertainty, a possible tariff war and other negatives, 2025 looks to be very different from 2024. In its look ahead to 2025, Fitch in December noted that 80% of the region’s banks have a stable outlook, with just 4% on a negative outlook and 15% on a positive one. The rating agency also suggested that “business conditions for the banks will remain sound, resulting in another year of good performance” and maybe an increased prospect of consolidation.
The improving outlook is particularly pronounced in the southern countries, Greece, Portugal, and Spain, on the back of continued business growth. The Nordic region and the Benelux countries are facing a neutral outlook with continued strong profitability and resilient asset quality. Banks in Germany and Italy have a neutral outlook with “resilience amidst weak economic performance” (Germany) or “subdued credit demand” (Italy). By contrast, French banks face a deteriorating outlook amid “macro uncertainties and political risk.”
With the overall macro-outlook in early 2025 more uncertain than it has been in many years, it was perhaps unsurprising that the ECB announced in January that it would stress test some 96 eurozone banks over the year. The ECB’s priorities for the sector in 2025 include, among other things, strengthening bank resilience to macro-financial and geopolitical shocks, and ensuring banks address digital transformation and climate change in an efficient and meaningful way. In a fast-changing world, the healthiest West European banks—like banks everywhere else—will demonstrate genuine foresight and flexibility.