Study Archives - Eurogroup Consulting

European Banking Performance | March 2026

Erwann CUAT DIT COEUR — Mon, Mar 23, 2026 11:55:57 PM UTC

Explore our new study: European Banking Performance

Resilient performance in 2025 despite a less supportive macro backdrop:

Inflation moderated and policy rates broadly plateaued following late-2024 cuts, reducing the tailwind from higher rates. Nonetheless, investor sentiment remained strong, with European banks significantly outperforming the broader European equity market.

Revenue growth increasingly offset by cost pressures:

Total revenues across our panel reached €641.8 bn (+4.7% vs. FY23), driven primarily by investment banking. However, pre-tax profit rose by only +2.5% to €236.8 bn, indicating that profitability is becoming less cyclical and more reliant on structural levers.

Operational Efficiency as a Key Differentiator

Performance dispersion remains wide, with “jaws effects” ranging from +11.5%to -12% . The average jaws effect across our panel has deteriorated significantly, and scale alone is no longer a guarantee of superior performance.

Diverging capital allocation strategies

The sector is splitting between banks prioritizing capital returns (approximately €15.8 billion in share buybacks announced for 2026 by eight banks in our panel) and those pursuing consolidation through M&A, reflecting either confidence in the resilience of their business model or the need for strategic transformation.

2026 Outlook | Sustainability and Differentiation

Winners will be those able to convert recent performance into durable structural improvements, strengthen top-line momentum, deliver productivity gains, and maintain disciplined risk and ESG management.

Download the full study conducted by our partner Matthieu Prieuret in collaboration with our consultants Dillon Oppon-Ferguson and Thomas Trenel.

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FR-EU Industrie 2040 : Une vision pour l’industrie française et européenne

Domina INGABIRE — Thu, 12 Mar 2026 16:54:54 +0000

Le défi de la souveraineté industrielle

Dans un contexte de recomposition des rapports de puissance, la maîtrise des chaînes de valeur industrielles est redevenue un enjeu stratégique central.

Aujourd’hui, plus de 60 % des composants industriels sont importés, avec des dépendances stratégiques concentrées en Asie.

Dans le même temps, les États-Unis et la Chine déploient des stratégies industrielles massives pour sécuriser leurs approvisionnements et dominer les technologies critiques.

L’enjeu n’est plus celui du diagnostic, mais de l’exécution, dans un contexte où la vitesse et l’échelle font la différence.

Une décennie décisive

Le leadership industriel reste atteignable, mais dans un nombre limité de secteurs et à condition d’opérer des choix stratégiques clairs.

La France doit simultanément réduire ses dépendances sur les segments critiques et accélérer l’industrialisation des technologies de rupture.

Cette transformation ne peut se faire qu’à l’échelle européenne, seule capable d’apporter la masse critique nécessaire pour rivaliser avec les grandes puissances.

De la vulnérabilité au leadership

Notre étude repose sur une conviction centrale : la vulnérabilité n’est pas une fatalité. La fenêtre d’opportunité reste ouverte, mais se referme rapidement.

Le plan France 2040 propose une stratégie fondée sur la concentration des investissements, des talents et des capacités industrielles sur des technologies clés.

À horizon 2040, cette trajectoire pourrait générer environ 150 milliards d’euros de valeur ajoutée supplémentaire et créer plus d’un million d’emplois, tout en renforçant durablement la souveraineté industrielle française et européenne.

Une feuille de route en 15 actions

15 actions structurantes sont identifiées pour transformer les vulnérabilités actuelles en leviers de compétitivité durable.

Elle propose un cadre d’action concret pour sécuriser les chaînes de valeur, accélérer l’industrialisation des technologies critiques et refonder la puissance industrielle à l’horizon 2040.

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AI: Driving the future of Automative Financing

Erwann CUAT DIT COEUR — Sun, Feb 22, 2026 9:53 PM UTC

Artificial intelligence is becoming increasingly central to the automotive finance sector, which is now at a crossroads:

AI initiatives are currently supporting leasing processes but it is not yet driving & enhancing business decision-making

AI is currently used mainly for back-office automation & operational support;
Final underwriting & strategic decisions remain mainly human-driven. AI is at the early stage of development!

Bottleneck in AI adoption is governance:

Most companies operate with less-than-mature AI & Data governance => There is under 25% of successful scaled AI initiatives;
AI Steering Committee is the cornerstone to define vision, build the roadmap, coordinate & guide AI transition.

Build, Prove, Monetise

Trust, integration and measurable business impacts are drivers for autofinance operators to select & scale up AI solutions;
Solution providers must deliver secure, mature and compliant products able to be seamlessly integrated with existing systems.

AI transformation is cultural rather than technical

Robust AI Change management & support is needed;
Create an “AI Academy” for a knowledge archive avoiding potential brain drain;
Build an AI ambassadors network for day to day business usages marketing & support.

Download the full study to find out more in the study conducted jointly by Eurogroup Consulting and ESCP Business School.

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Baromètre des décideurs de l'assurance 2026: under pressure, insurance enters a new era

Baptiste LEFILLIATRE-SCHREINER — Tue, 17 Feb 2026 17:00:00 +0000

The Baromètre des décideurs de l'assurance 2026, carried out by Eurogroup Consulting in partnership with Cercle LAB, returns to a profoundly transformed context. Inflation in technical costs, regulatory pressure, market volatility, the acceleration of artificial intelligence: the sector is now operating in a more demanding, more unstable and more technological environment.

This latest edition of the Barometer highlights a major strategic shift in the sector: the insurance industry is no longer focused on growth at any price, but rather on striking a balance between performance, risk management and operational efficiency.

Selective optimism in a constrained environment

The survey results reveal a kind of «great dissonance» within the sector. While 65% of % decision-makers anticipate favorable momentum in the Savings/Life segment, driven by more favorable financial conditions, technical activities remain under heavy pressure. In P&C, nearly one decision-maker in two expects a deterioration, while Health-Provident business remains weakened by transfers of costs and changing risk profiles. In an environment marked by cost inflation, market volatility and heightened competition, growth still exists, but it is targeted and more demanding.

The defensive priority: restore margins and control risks

Faced with this unprecedented scissors effect, the strategic priority is clearly shifting towards protecting economic equilibrium. For 57 % of executives, operational efficiency is the number one priority, ahead of the customer experience. The aim is to contain cost increases and preserve technical margins, even as structural risks intensify.

Cyber & Data are emerging as the top strategic concern (76 % of respondents), ahead of legal and regulatory risks, then climate. Insurers need to secure their own systems while continuing to cover increasingly complex exposures, in a constantly evolving regulatory and technological environment.

«Decision-makers are no longer thinking in terms of growth at any price, but in terms of trade-offs: between performance and efficiency, between technological investment and cost control, between commercial conquest and value creation. between performance and efficiency, between technological investment and cost control, between commercial conquest and value creation».»

Matthieu Sainton

Partner

AI and customer value at the heart of the new model

In this context, technological transformation is changing scale. Generative AI is already integrated by 76 % of managers in at least one function. It is becoming a concrete lever for industrialization, mobilized to automate processes, enhance fraud detection or improve customer relations. At the same time, the logic of growth is changing: players are focusing on market diversification and maximizing value per customer, rather than on massive conquest.

The 2026 barometer thus outlines a sector in transition, engaged in three decisive battles: restoring underwriting margins, driving portfolio value and achieving organizational transformation. More than ever, the insurance industry must combine industrialization and local presence to build sustainable business models.

Download the Barometer of Insurance Decision-makers 2026.

Study methodology

To ensure the robustness of the results and lessons learned, this study combines two complementary data sources:

A quantitative component: an online consultation of a hundred or so executives over the 4th quarter of 2025 to measure trends and investment priorities.
A qualitative component: A series of 30 in-depth interviews conducted throughout 2025. These discussions with insurers, mutual insurers, provident institutions, brokers and industry experts enabled us to qualify the weak signals and contextualize the quantitative results.

The questionnaire was specifically addressed to a population of senior decision-makers in all market families: insurers, mutual insurers, provident institutions, bancassurers... guaranteeing a strategic and not merely operational vision. The majority of respondents occupy top management positions: members of COMEX and General Management, strategy departments, development departments, technical departments, operations departments, etc.

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Sovereignty and financing of defense SMEs: a strategic challenge for 2030

Baptiste LEFILLIATRE-SCHREINER — Mon, 09 Feb 2026 16:55:44 +0000

Faced with rising geopolitical tensions and the prospect of a high-intensity engagement, the Defense Industrial and Technological Base (DITB) is more than ever at the heart of French and European sovereignty. While major prime contractors are often the focus of attention, start-ups, SMEs and ETIs form the industrial backbone of the sector, supporting innovation, production and ramp-up.

For these companies, access to financing remains a critical factor.

A year rich in announcements in 2025

In March 2025, the French Ministries of the Economy and the Armed Forces launched an unprecedented dialogue between DTIB companies and public and private financiers.

This has led to the announcement of a number of new entrants to the defense funding landscape. Whether they are public or private, whether they finance innovation or growth, whether they provide debt or capital, these initiatives are essential.

In total, nearly €3 billion in public and private funding has been announced over the past 10 months. However, the overall needs of the DTIB are estimated at around €5 billion by Economy Minister Lombard.

Sovereignty as a strategic necessity

In parallel with these encouraging announcements, geopolitical tensions have only increased. The upheaval of the transatlantic alliance and the threats to European nations make the strategic autonomy of France and Europe more necessary than ever.

This strategic autonomy is as much a question of the military as of finance. To enable us to innovate and equip our forces over the long term, capital must be available to invest, to finance the ramp-up and to transfer all links in the value chain on a sovereign basis.

Current financing arrangements cover each of the essential links, but certain key needs are not yet fully addressed. The foreign divestment announcements that have hit the headlines since 2025 demonstrate that sovereign wealth transfer is a glaring example of the challenge facing defense companies.

A major lever: bringing together industrial policy and financial engineering

Beyond financial tools, the key issue remains the alignment between industrial strategy, military programming and financing. International experience shows that a factor is decisive: the State's ability to use public procurement as a means of industrial leverage, by providing multi-year visibility for the entire supply chain. This predictability enables companies to invest and commitment.

Reconciling sovereignty and the financing of defense SMEs and ETIs requires a paradigm shift: building a continuum between innovation, public procurement and private capital. Only in this way can the DTIB become more resilient, accelerate its growth and sustainably meet the strategic challenges of the years ahead.

Download the Carolina Göthberg (Kairn Strategy Consulting) and Michaël Agbohouto (Eurogroup Consulting), carried out as part of the The Institute by Eurogroup Company.

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French Managers Barometer 2026

Domina INGABIRE — Sun, 04 Jan 2026 09:22:26 +0000

Eurogroup Consulting unveils the results of its new Baromètre des dirigeants français 2026, carried out in partnership with the entrepreneurs' network of the French Chambers of Commerce and Industry, CCI France Internationalthe French Foreign Trade Advisors and BFM Business.

Faced with geopolitical tensions, economic uncertainties and political instability, France's leaders have opted for action. They are no longer waiting for a hypothetical return to stability: they decide to go ahead and to stay the course.

The 2026 edition of the Barometer, based on over 1,000 responses from business leaders based in France and abroad, reveals a major strategic shift: caution has given way to assertiveness.

2026: STAYING THE COURSE

Managers' state of mind

51%

are neutral, confident or optimistic

40%

are uncertain (stable VS 2025)

9%

are pessimistic

Three strategic priorities are emerging

Managers have clearly prioritized their areas of action:

Profitability and economic performance: 83% (+10 points) VS 2025)
The top priority remains preserving and restoring margins.
International development: 56% (+20 points)
The real signal for 2026: a spectacular acceleration in international appetite. Entrepreneurs will seek profitability wherever they think they can find it.
Human resources: 52% (+5 points)
The battle for talent remains central. Human capital remains the differentiating factor par excellence.

The ambition to expand internationally

The map of opportunities is becoming clearer. While Europe remains the natural terrain for expansion, the attraction of South-East Asia is confirmed and the Middle East makes a notable breakthrough, moving up from rank 5 to rank 3 in one year.

In their choice of location, managers are above all guided by economic pragmatism: 87% put the local economic context first. Managers go where the economy works, where the markets are dynamic and where growth is on the cards.

Risks that still give cause for concern

66% executives

consider risks geopolitics as major (-8 pts VS 2025)

48% executives

identify risks economic as worrying (-20 pts VS 2025)

8% only

consider the climate as a major risk

In the ranking of countries judged most favourable to competitiveness: the United States (23%), l’Italy (12%) and the China (10%) come out on top. Note that the United States is cited half as often as in 2025, while Italy has made significant progress and now overtakes China.

A word from Gilles Bonnenfant, Chairman of Eurogroup Company

Managers have entered a new paradigm. They no longer seek to regain pre-crisis visibility, they no longer wait for a return to stability before moving forward, they choose to navigate in spite of uncertainty.

The real signal is the 20-point jump in the international appetite of French managers. Entrepreneurs are looking for profitability wherever they think they can find it. While Europe remains the natural breeding ground, the attraction of Southeast Asia and the emergence of the Middle East is confirmed.

The diagnosis of economic sovereignty is clear: 68% consider it a priority, but 78% consider our responses insufficient. Our companies demand that we do not stand in their way. Regulatory simplification, ambitious industrial policies: this is where our competitiveness lies.

Download the full analysis

Discover all the detailed results, analyses by sector and company size, and the outlook for the coming year.

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Corporate memory: a strategic asset for driving transformation

EGCAdmin — Thu, 04 Dec 2025 04:56:38 +0000

In a world where organizations are evolving under the continuous pressure of ecological, technological, social and economic transitions, transformation has become a permanent management mode. Companies must simultaneously rethink their business models, accelerate innovation, enhance their attractiveness, meet new societal expectations and navigate in competitive environments where the ability to adapt determines survival.

But while transformation is essential, it comes up against a limit that is often underestimated: the risk of a disconnect between what the company wants to become and its core legitimacy. By dint of accumulating plans, projects and breakthroughs, many organizations are running out of steam. Employees struggle to keep up, change narratives lose credibility, mistakes are repeated and strategies wither for want of a reactivated capital of experience.

It's this tension - between the need to change and the need to remain oneself - that the new study addresses. «Corporate memory: a strategic asset for driving transformation».», by the’Choiseul Institute and the’Memory Observatory with the support of’Eurogroup Consulting.

Memory, the missing link in transformation processes

Whether tangible (archives, objects, industrial sites) or intangible (founding stories, business practices, culture, accumulated experience), memory structures continuity. It gives meaning to changes, helps teams to plan ahead, and prevents each transformation from being seen as a challenge.

As Nicolas Bartel, Eurogroup Consulting partner, points out, «Memory is the missing link in many transformations. Without a reminder of what's already been done, the rhetoric of change remains ungrounded».».

The study, based on testimonials from the heads of major groups, shows that the most successful organizations know how to reactivate their memory to legitimize changes, mobilize teams, speed up projects and avoid mistakes already made.

A strategic asset still undervalued

Beyond its cultural or symbolic role, memory enables :

Reduce the hidden costs associated with organizational amnesia: relearning, repetition of errors, disorganization, loss of know-how.
Accelerate the acceptability of transformations, by linking present decisions to a long, coherent trajectory.
Strengthen innovation: technical archives, prototypes and business gestures become «inspiration datasets» for design, R&D and creativity.
Promote the company to talent, the market and local communities.

At a time when the transmission of critical skills, the attractiveness of employer brands and the securing of knowledge are becoming major issues, memory appears as a strategic asset to be governed in the same way as intangible or extra-financial capital.

An operational framework to activate memory

The study proposes a real methodology, built around three major levers:

1. Governing memory

Appoint a political leader, define the «non-negotiables», create rituals to anchor transformation projects, structure an archiving and transmission strategy.

2. Tools and formalization

Inventory resources, digitize, index, create memory capsules, use AI to exploit heritage holdings, document successes and crises alike.

3. Activating memory for transformation

Reintroduce memory into induction programs, training, managerial communications and change management. Encourage dialogue between the memory of the field and the memory of head office. Give a place to «memory carriers» (experts, alumni, key figures).

Eurogroup Consulting is already supporting several organizations in this approach, integrating memory as a lever for transformation in the same way as leadership, culture and skills.

Memory is not a legacy to be preserved, but a driving force for lasting transformation. A company capable of linking its future to its past creates the conditions for a legitimate, motivating and successful transformation.

Download the’our expert's insight Nicolas Bartel and the complete’Choiseul Institute and the’Memory Observatory, with the support of’Eurogroup Consulting.

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What is the "acceptability" of transport infrastructure projects?

EGCAdmin — Mon, 17 Nov 2025 14:08:08 +0000

Whether it's a question of transport infrastructure or urban planning, the "acceptability" of projects is increasingly in question.

How can we reconcile strategic vision and democratic consultation between the imperatives of general interest and local concerns? What are the levers for building trust? What tools are needed to better involve local communities and residents? And how can we rethink the governance of major developments in a time of major transitions?

Our experts Clémence Cazemajour, Aurélie Schraub and Cécile Gouesse invite you to discover the answers to these challenges in their report, available for download!

An issue at the heart of the debate

While the "acceptability" of projects was widely debated at the France Transport held from May to July 2025, and in June 2025, Clément Beaune, High Commissioner for Strategy and Planning, commissioned Prefect Cadot to "reflect on the legal and administrative levers for action that will enable us to develop a renewed framework for infrastructure projects in our country", The present report provides an overview of the issues and practices of transport infrastructure managers (airports, ports, railways, roads) in this area, as well as possible courses of action to improve the co-construction of infrastructure projects.

An increasingly complex context

Visit transport infrastructure projects in France are evolving in an increasingly constrained and complex context: constrained financial and budgetary framework, regulatory framework for the ecological transition (low-carbon, zero net artificialisation, etc.), but also articulation with regional projects, and better stakeholder involvement, beyond the recourse to concertation that has now become established. At the same time, a large majority of French people reaffirm their expectations in terms of investment in transport infrastructure (with scores ranging from 70 % to 94 % depending on the type of infrastructure).

Increasing difficulties in carrying out projects

A number of developments are making project management more difficult:

An increase in the number of legal appeals and administrative procedures: in 2024, for example, nearly sixty road and motorway projects in France will be contested;
The difficulty of projecting these infrastructures into a shared future;
Finally, since the 2010s, the rise of local opposition campaigns (Notre-Dame-des-Landes, A69, LGV Sud-Ouest, etc.) has had a major impact.

Compared with the regulatory framework for consultation in France, Germany favors an iterative construction of legitimacy, in a context where, in a federal country, each level of government holds its own legitimacy. The regions, Länder and municipalities expect to be fully involved in decisions affecting their territory. This political architecture requires long and complex coordination, but it ensures that projects are perceived as "co-constructed" rather than imposed. transport transport transport trasnports

How can we better "manufacture" infrastructure projects?

The experts interviewed share several best practices:

Involve all stakeholders: citizens, elected representatives, associations, socio-economic players, government;
Take time for consultation: early enough to be credible, but not too early so that options are sufficiently precise to be debatable;
"Giving people something to talk about": opening up a project to discussion by identifying what, in concrete terms, can still evolve;
Empowering politicians and decision-makers, in their ability to assume their role in decision-making and project education;
Distinguish between project owners and infrastructure managers, and avoid confusing political project ownership (which defines objectives, expected benefits and trade-offs) with technical project ownership / infrastructure management (which implements concrete solutions).

In addition to better "manufacturing" infrastructure projects, how can we do things differently, renewing the framework for integrating projects into territories? This report identifies several avenues:

Engage people differently around infrastructure projects: mobilize influencers dedicated to the projects, use graphic facilitation, multiply and adapt devices to engage the territory, even develop local referendums on infrastructure projects;
Dialogue based on territorial projects, rather than unitary projects: make consultation part of a multi-project approach within a territory;
Keeping track of projects (and territories): getting to know your territory, its needs and challenges through contextual studies, tracing all the commitments and concessions made to the project;
Work on procedural and administrative complexity: group authorizations, develop unified State/community governance, use and promote early voluntary consultation;
Review the logic of association / compensation of stakeholders: approve transactions between the project owner and associations, open up the possibility for the project owner to amend public contracts on the basis of the DUP or initial declaration, without having to restart the entire procedure, encourage mandatory mediation mechanisms upstream or around the DUP to anticipate opposition and co-construct legitimate, publicized compromises.

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Corporate & Investment Banking Outlook 2025

EGCAdmin — Thu, 23 Oct 2025 13:54:33 +0000

CIB PERFORMANCE AND OUTLOOK

The first half of 2025 confirmed a fragile economic environment. The OCDE projects global growth at 2.9% this year (after 3.1% in 2024), but trajectories diverge: a US rebound (+3.8% in Q2), modest recovery in Europe (+1.6%), limited growth in the UK (+0.3% in Q2), and emerging markets under pressure from new US tariffs (effective average rate at 18.6%, the highest since 1933). Against this backdrop, capital markets revenues rose 13% YoY, but performance dispersion across banks remains pronounced. Structurally, revenue and cost dynamics across geographies have followed similar cycles since FY2023, downturn, recovery, and acceleration, but the amplitudes differ: US banks achieved a steeper rebound in revenues, while European peers exhibited greater volatility in cost efficiency. UK banks remain closer to the European profile.

On the non-financial side, ESG integration accelerates: According to our reserach, European banks score 36% higher than US peers, with reporting converging toward IFRS S1/S2 despite delays, while investors demand integrated ESG-financial data and deploy GenAI tools to assess double materiality.

From AI to Agentic AI in Banking and CIBs

AI investments topped $250bn as of 2024YE and could reach $1.2tn by 2030, with banking alone attracting $26bn in 2024, set to quintuple by 2030. In CIBs, most use cases focus on cost savings, cutting up to 25% in compliance, operations, and customer service costs, though ROI on revenues remains unclear.

Generative AI is scaling fast: BNP Paribas targets 1,000 use cases in production by 2025YE (c.€500m in value), Standard Chartered has deployed SC GPT to 70,000 staff in 41 markets, and JPMorgan runs 300+ AI use cases within an $18bn tech budget. Goldman Sachs's Marquee shows how advanced analytics and execution can be monetized, paving the way for agentic AI.

This new frontier promises autonomous decision-making and deeper transformation but also raises risks around trust and compliance, with Gartner warning that 40% of projects may be cancelled by 2027. Success will hinge on robust data governance, cross-functional collaboration, and strong talent strategies, as people remain central to scaling AI effectively.

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Insights - Memory and customer relations

EGCAdmin — Thu, 11 Sep 2025 13:13:28 +0000

Memory, an under-exploited strategic lever in customer relations :

Larketing and sales departments invest massively in data to personalize the customer experience but qu’en-Is there memory in this relationship?

In addition to The accumulation of figures, often limited to a few years, conceals a narrative and heritage potential that is still under-utilized.

Yet history and current events, identity and data can levers for reinvent the customer relations.

Memory can become a real driver of differentiation and loyalty but also a key reading to rethink customer strategy taking into consideration the passé and better anticipate the future.

Find out how Nicolas Bartel and Pierre Volle (Paris Dauphine University), with contributions from the Institut Choiseul, the Observatoire des mémoires and Eurogroup Consulting, rethink customer relations through memory.

Our viewpoint

Memory appears to be a strategic lever that is still under-utilized when it comes to enriching customer relationships over the long term. As a complement to data, it offers a way of anchoring brands in their history, reinforcing their uniqueness and creating deeper ties with customers..

Revaluing memory
Going beyond data
Enhancing heritage
Building a lasting relationship with the customer using the "history telling"
Making memory a tool for innovation

Download the’our expert's insight Nicolas Bartel and Pierre Volle (Paris Dauphine University), written for the Club «s »Corporate Memory" program.’Choiseul Institute and the’Memory Observatory, with the support of’Eurogroup Consulting.

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