Author Description

CEPS and the International Observatory on Financial Services Cooperatives (IOFSC) at HEC Montreal have initiated an annual monitoring exercise on banking business models in the EU. Based on their balance sheet structures, 147 European banks that account for more than 80% of the industry assets were categorized in four business models. The Monitor emphasizes ownership structures and assesses financial and economic performance and resilience and robustness before, during, and after the financial and economic crises across retail diversified, retail focused, investment, and wholesale oriented banks. Inter alia, this edition of the Monitor finds that banks that engage more in traditional retail banking activities with a mix of funding sources fared better than other bank models during the different phases of the crisis.