Focus on the Savings and Investments Union

Description

Europe’s competitiveness increasingly rests on its ability to turn deep pools of household savings into productive, long-term investment. With productivity slowing, geopolitical risks rising, and financial fragmentation persisting, the case for a genuine Savings and Investments Union is stronger than ever.

A core factor in this challenge are Europe’s pension systems. Demographic pressures and shifting labour markets are forcing a reassessment of how retirement savings are accumulated and deployed, and how to encourage longer-term investment behaviour across the system.

Securitisation is also returning to the fore as a potential bridge between savings and investment. A more dynamic and trusted securitisation market could free up bank balance sheets, widen funding channels for companies, and create new opportunities for institutional investors: provided long-standing regulatory and confidence barriers can be addressed.