European banks have expressed their gratitude for the increase in interest income over the past year, which has been attributed to competition from the United States. According to calculations by EY, the net profit of the ten largest banks in Europe saw a substantial increase of 29 percent, reaching almost 100 billion euros. This marks the highest value in the past decade. In comparison, the top ten US institutions experienced a four percent increase in net profit, totaling around 146 billion euros. JPMorgan Chase emerged as the leader in consolidated earnings, followed closely by UBS.
EY partner Ralf Eckert noted that major European banks have made significant progress in key metrics compared to their American counterparts. They were able to capitalize on the increase and normalization of interest rates, resulting in higher profits. The return on equity for the ten European financial institutions included in the evaluation was 10.9 percent as of December 31, 2023, while US institutions maintained an 11 percent rate. This indicates the efficiency with which companies utilize their equity capital.
Despite this progress made by European banks, US institutions still hold a significant advantage in terms of market capitalization. As of December 31, 2023, the total market capitalization of the top ten US banks was 1.32 trillion euros, compared to 551.6 billion euros for European banks