“We’re committed to working alongside our customers, building a progressive future together in the face of the major challenges posed by the transition to a low-carbon world and the support during the revolution brought about by artificial intelligence.”
When analysing the main trends in the global economy, it’s clear that the repercussions of conflict are weakening it. The economic slowdown is visible across all regions. Chinese growth slowed to +5.2% in 2023, the lowest rate for three decades, not including the Covid period. In the eurozone, Germany’s GDP was down by 0.3%. On the inflation front, while vigilance is still required, the tightening of monetary policies seems to be starting to bear fruit. After falling in the United States, inflation in the eurozone fell to its lowest level for two years at the end of 2023. Faced with a high interest rate scenario, economic agents are finding it harder to access financing, which is penalising their projects and investments, with particularly tangible effects on certain sectors such as real estate.
After a rather sluggish 2023 and early 2024, economic growth should resume in the second half of the year, buoyed by expectations of lower interest rates and the prospect of monetary policy beginning to ease. 2024 is thus a pivotal year, especially as it’s marked by major electoral cycles, with the elections to the European Parliament in June in Europe and the presidential election in November in the United States, the results of which will undoubtedly have an impact on the economy. As such, we call on the European Union to seize the opportunities presented by this electoral calendar to finalise the project to unite its capital markets. Their relative share at the international level is too small: 10%, while they represent 18% of global GDP. The European economy is mainly financed by banks. It’s our responsibility to expand the use of the financial markets to increase its financing capacities.
We will only be able to achieve this through the creation of a unified market, which is essential to strengthening the European Union’s competitiveness and meeting the immense financing needs required by the ongoing ecological and technological transitions.
Our positioning as the leading bank in the European Union and our financial strength enable us to contribute to these major societal challenges over the long term. We can rely on the power and efficiency of our diversified and integrated model, as well as on the consistency of our strategic vision, which enabled us, once again, to deliver solid financial results this year. Combined with our stable governance and prudent risk management, these strengths enable us to continue our growth for the benefit of our customers, our shareholders and the world we live in, by making a significant contribution to ecological and technological transitions. All over the world, our teams work to support our customers in the face of these major changes and challenges, collectively building a prosperous and inclusive future. In this respect, our Group is actively playing its part in the transition to a low-carbon economy, the only possible way to face the intensification of climate change and the loss of biodiversity.
We’re also fully aware of the revolution brought about by the use of artificial intelligence (AI), and, more recently, generative AI. This technology is creating unprecedented opportunities for all sectors of the economy but needs to be used in a responsible and controlled manner. Thanks to AI, we can enhance the customer experience, improve our operational efficiency and better prevent risks. Faced with the numerous challenges that this entails, we’re adopting a strategy of gradual, controlled adoption and deployment.
To combine economic efficiency and positive impact, we’re staying the course expressed by our Company purpose: to serve our customers and the world we live in, moving forward together towards a positive and sustainable future in which we prioritise people and their ecosystems. We intend to contribute to this future through each of our actions.
INTERVIEW CONDUCTED ON 12 MARCH 2024.
