Western European banks experienced much turmoil in 2022, from inflation and interest rate hikes to the threat of a recession and the unwinding of the Covid-19 pandemic support mechanisms, such as the EU’s targeted longer-term refinancing operations. Not to mention geopolitical strife.
In the coming months, the impact of some of these trends may flow through to Tier 1 capital ratios, but for now, there has been no shifting of the deck chairs at the very top of The Banker’s 2023 Tier 1 capital ranking for western Europe.