French retail banks are currently facing an increasing pressure on their business model, which requires a new approach to transformation; fortunately, they have many opportunities to reduce their costs in a context of income pressure that is likely to continue but pending on several initiatives from banks.

Today, French retail banks (together with their German counterparts) have the highest cost/income ratios (operating expenses as a percentage of NBI) in Europe. This is a fundamental trend since 2016, as banks of these two countries are the only ones in Europe to have seen their cost to continue to deteriorate, while players from other countries have seen their banks undertake major cost reduction projects to optimise their cost base.
 

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