The European wholesale banking market is complex and diverse, yet attractive; non-local banks often struggle to compete with established, national players due to limited local connections, political clout, and market understanding.
The following list, drawn from a recently completed field study on the reputations of Europe’s leading wholesale banks, outlines five necessary rules for success across the continent:
1. Master the delivery. The difference between ‘good’ and ‘excellent’ banking is in the delivery. Ban advertising — deliver. Let service excellence speak for itself. Don’t spin a story, ‘be’ a story. Within Europe, classic standardization strategies — the ‘low-hanging-fruit-approach’ — definitely do not work. Cultural differences complicate matters: what works in Germany doesn’t work in Greece. Delivery excellence in Europe is not operational — it is human.
2. Know who really knows clients — clients. If you want to understand what European clients expect, ask them directly. Banking is about addressing pressing concerns — yet in the right order. Failing to prioritize means losing clients. Effective prioritization is tough since there are no general formulas that work across Europe. Hence, personal engagement matters more than secondhand insights through consultancies (to crack the code of banking excellence across Europe, too many banks use too many consultancies).
3. Client satisfaction starts with ‘understanding human nature’. Clients are people first, clients second. Financial models are secondary to human motives. Banking isn’t a B2B industry; it’s a H2H (Human-to-Human) industry. Always recognize clients’ need for esteem. But making clients feel competent, offering them choices, taking responsibility for problems, finding solutions to challenges, and acting compassionately is just the start. Being an outstanding student of behavioral science is a must — especially across Europe.
4. Fairness breeds trust. Make sure the bank’s services and interpersonal dealings with clients leave them feeling (quote) “justly treated” — as many executive clients emphasized in my interviews. However, across Europe, both fairness and trust mean different things to different people. Proactively involving clients helps. Professional intimacy is alpha and omega in an industry built on trust, nuance, and seamless service.
5. Hire for attitude, not just skill. Mediocre staff quality is an expensive way for a bank to save money. The best hiring strategy? Watch how people behave. Do employees truly understand the intricate cultural sensitivities across Europe? Europe isn’t one market; it’s a collection of deep-seated memories and pride.
Across Europe, wholesale banking success is ultimately determined not by scale, but by human judgment, cultural intelligence, and disciplined delivery. More details are available at www.pieterklaasjagersma.com/reports.
— published on LinkedIn | 02.04.26