Investor Lenny Fischer rechnet mit Europas Finanzwelt ab

European bank stocks have recovered significantly in recent years. However, for investor Leonard Fischer, this is no proof of renewed strength in the sector. The institutions have primarily benefited from higher interest rates and the strong upswing in the stock markets. Measured against their equity capital, many European banks remain undervalued on the stock exchange. Fischer sees considerably more potential in a comprehensive consolidation of the European banking sector. Europe is too fragmented compared to the US. While a few large institutions dominate the market there, Europe lacks powerful banks. Fischer therefore considers UniCredit's acquisition of Commerzbank a step in the right direction – but only a start. His criticism of the traditional banking model is even more fundamental. For him, banks are "dinosaurs of the financial industry." Innovations are no longer financed by traditional credit institutions, but by private equity firms, private credit providers, and venture capital funds. Platforms like PayPal, Revolut, and Trade Republic demonstrate how financial services are increasingly diverging from traditional banking. Fischer therefore expects the next financial crisis not in the heavily regulated banking sector, but in the significantly less supervised shadow banking system. There, transparency and regulation are lacking in many places.