(Bloomberg) -- One of JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s most senior bankers has a message for his rivals across Europe: they’ll have to get bigger if they want to keep him on his toes.
Filippo Gori, who is co-head of the firm’s newly formed global banking division, said he sees a growing need for larger banks across the continent, especially those that operate across different countries.
“Banking requires scale to serve clients better and to face whatever the world is throwing at you and for Europe, it would be better to have more pan-European champions,” Gori said in an interview on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. “We welcome competition as it makes us run faster. It is also good for Europe.”
His comments come as deal activity among banks is heating up across Europe, with fresh attempts by some major banks looking to acquire local and overseas competitors. Spain’s BBVA, for instance, has launched a hostile takeover bid for its smaller rival Banco de Sabadell SA. Germany’s Commerzbank AG is building a defense strategy amid a potential takeover approach by UniCredit SpA. The Italian lender is also making a bid for its domestic competitor Banco BPM SpA.
In all three cases, the deals were met with resistance from either the target or other stakeholders. But there’s also legal challenges that could hinder any merger from being consummated.
Europe has sought to form a banking union that would better integrate its banks. That effort has been in the works after the region’s financial system fractured along national lines following the 2008 credit crunch, but it has stalled because of concerns from some states about sharing risk.
“There is a perception in Europe that the banking sector is a place of change, but we should be mindful of the legal challenges that may hamper the road ahead,” Gori said, without commenting on any specific deal. “While deals are possible if you already have a license in another country, there is currently a limit to what can be done. The banking union should be finalized.”
Gori was elevated alongside Doug Petno last year to lead JPMorgan’s newly formed global banking division, which combined its commercial, corporate and investment banking businesses. He was also named head of the bank’s Europe, the Middle East and Africa operations and moved to London from Hong Kong as part of the changes.
“One of the key priorities for us this year in EMEA is to get our banking business ready for what could be a really busy year,” Gori said. “We are also looking at more investments in fintech.”
Newly installed President Donald Trump is expected to usher in a more business-friendly regulatory environment in the US. Gori echoed many of his peers in saying that his bank is preparing for a wave of equity capital markets activity and mergers.
Private equity exits should also boost deal volumes. Many buyout funds were stuck on the sidelines in recent years as central banks around the world hiked interest rates, meaning there’s pent up demand among those clients to do deals, he said.
“There is a greater sense of euphoria,” he said. “The new administration is seen as more open-minded on regulation and that has clearly brought the animal spirits back to the market.”
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