Reports

The Association for Financial Markets in Europe (AFME) has today published a report highlighting the critical barriers still limiting EU banking consolidation, including over €475 bn in capital and liquidity trapped by regulatory ringfencing, as well as the fact EU banks face higher funding costs versus global peers with stringent MREL requirements (28% of risk weighted assets) exceeding levels in the US (22%) creating a competitive disadvantage. Furthermore, our report finds EU Banking M&A is the slowest in the world with acquisitions taking 285 days on average – far longer than the US (219 days) delaying consolidation and weakening the sector’s efficiency.

The report illustrates how tokenization and DLT are reshaping securities issuance, collateral management and fund
operations, with live use cases demonstrating significant efficiency gains, enhanced transparency and improved
risk management. Importantly, the report describes how the overall size and significance of the cryptoasset
market have increased, rendering many of the premises underlying the Basel standard outdated and requiring
important adjustments.

In this thought leadership piece, AFME and Murex identify several areas where tech providers can support the effective implementation of DORA, including through collaborative approaches in partnership with the financial sector.

AFME and PwC Strategy& have published a comprehensive report analysing the state of European equity markets. Drawing on new quantitative data and insights from over 40 interviews with key market participants across the equity value chain, the report offers a detailed assessment of the current strengths and persistent challenges facing Europe’s equity markets.

The High-Level Roadmap is a significant step forward on the EU’s journey to T+1. The report sets out the key recommendations for the marketwide technical and operational changes necessary to deliver T+1 in October 2027, and we hope will be a valuable resource for industry participants’ project planning.