Global CIW banking has entered an execution phase, where rank movement is driven by improvement across multiple dimensions, while the efficiency gap between Middle Eastern and Western institutions widens
Global CIW banking has entered an execution phase, where rank movement is driven by improvement across multiple dimensions, while the efficiency gap between Middle Eastern and Western institutions widens
European banks across 34 markets saw net profit grow by a factor of 4.4 between FY2020 and FY2025, driven by post-pandemic recovery and the European Central Bank’s (ECB’s) most aggressive rate-hike cycle in a generation between 2022 and 2023. As these growth tailwinds ease and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and ECB revise Euro area real GDP growth to between 0.9 and 1.1% in 2026, banks that built structural capacity during the windfall years now demonstrate more stable earnings, with banks in Belgium, Eastern Europe and the Nordics emerging as structural leaders.
Mapping deposit growth against loan growth across the world's 1,000 largest banks reveals that 54% expanded lending faster than deposits between 2022 and 2024. When funding structures and liquidity buffers are also considered, Vietnam and Saudi Arabia emerge as the markets with the most vulnerable banking sectors. This underscores the structural challenge of building strong customer deposit franchises in high-growth emerging markets.
Deutsche Bank leads the 2026 TABInsights CIW ranking among Europe-based corporate, investment and wholesale banks, as digital capability, operational efficiency and franchise strength increasingly differentiate the region’s top institutions.
N26 delivered its first full-year net profit in 2025, but a decade of prioritising growth over bank-grade controls left the German fintech trailing European rivals, prompting a sweeping leadership overhaul.
Europe’s largest banks by country showed surprising resilience in the first half of 2026, with broad-based growth across their business segments. UBS, Barclays and BNP Paribas stood out, although part of their results were boosted by corporate-centre gains, treasury performance and exceptional items. Strong earnings prompted several banks to raise their full-year guidance and reconsider mergers and acquisitions