In a keynote speech published by European Central Bank Banking Supervision, Supervisory Board member Sharon Donnery argued that completing the EU Single Market and reducing gender-based barriers inside Member States should be treated as part of the same productivity agenda. She said a more integrated market would make European banking supervision more effective by reducing national fragmentation, while better access for women to employment, financial knowledge, saving and investment would help Europe make fuller use of labour and capital. Donnery cited International Monetary Fund estimates that remaining Single Market barriers are equivalent to tariffs of around 44% for goods and 110% for services, and said bringing them closer to US internal market levels could raise long-run European productivity by nearly 7 percentage points. She also described deeper capital markets through the savings and investments union as necessary to connect European savings with productive investment. In banking, differences in parts of the prudential regime and in accounting, securities and insolvency law still add cross-border complexity, limiting more efficient credit flows and bank expansion. On gender gaps, she pointed to lower average financial literacy among women, an EU gender employment gap that the European Commission estimates cost the economy EUR 390 billion in 2023, a gender pay gap of about 12% per hour and pensions about 25% lower on average. She added that euro area central banks have built a financial literacy network, are developing comparable literacy measures across Europe and have agreed targeted initiatives specifically for women.
European Central Bank - Banking Supervision 2026-05-09
European Central Bank Banking Supervision speech links Single Market completion and gender equality to productivity
European Central Bank Banking Supervision’s Sharon Donnery said in a keynote that completing the EU Single Market and reducing gender-based barriers should form a unified productivity agenda, arguing that a more integrated market would improve supervision and capital allocation. Citing IMF estimates that remaining Single Market barriers equal tariffs of about 44% for goods and 110% for services, she said convergence towards US internal market levels could raise long-run European productivity by nearly 7 percentage points and called for deeper capital markets via a savings and investments union. Donnery also highlighted persistent gender gaps in financial literacy, employment, pay and pensions, noting that euro area central banks are building a financial literacy network and implementing targeted initiatives for women.