Sponsored section
Jan Hommen,
Chairman Executive Board, ING Group |
 |
The European economy is trying to recover from the deepest recession since the nineteen thirties. As the financial crisis started within the financial services industry, financial institutions have an important responsibility to go back to the basics of finance and have a clear eye for what lies at the heart of our business : collecting customer balances and redeploying these in the economy, by means of mortgages and corporate, private and other types of loans. With the Back to Basics programme ING initiated last year, we are taking important steps to reinforce our traditional role to create the conditions for social and economic progress by taking and spreading the financial risks of households and companies.
Since the abolition of EU internal frontiers, the Internal Market has boosted economic growth and prosperity, and helped creating millions of extra jobs. We could not have achieved that success without the entrepreneurial spirit and innovative behaviour that characterises so many SMEs. During the financial upheaval and economic instability of the past two years entrepreneurs have shown a remarkable ability to be agile and flexible, driven by a firm belief in their ideas and business in order to succeed. Financial institutions have a responsibility to support these entrepreneurs by fuelling their ideas and business spirit with capital.
However, reinvigorating the traditional European growth engine requires more than an injection of capital. The business climate for SMEs and start-up companies in the European Union still leaves room for improvement. In particular in comparison with the United States, entrepreneurial initiative and risk-taking in Europe are still hampered by a complex regulatory environment and administrative barriers. This is a worrying reality, especially if one realises that SMEs are the backbone of the European economy.
Moreover, it is of great importance that SMEs themselves are encouraged to develop partnerships with banks at earlier stages than is the case today. Strong relationships between banks and SMEs will facilitate timely discussions on business plans and thus a smoother credit process.
The European Commission recognises the importance of entrepreneurship. It rightfully defines it as the mindset and process to create and develop economic activity by blending risk-taking, creativity and/or innovation with sound management, within a new or an existing organisation. It is thus to be hoped that, especially with the strong economic headwind of today, the European Commission will step up its efforts to strengthen this economic backbone.
To support the business climate, the administrative burden on businesses needs to be lessened and incentives to think across borders increased. Initiatives to develop increased social security for entrepreneurs can do a lot to support small entrepreneurs in Europe. Removing tax obstacles will improve the functioning of the Internal Market and avoid unnecessary compliance costs for business being passed on to consumers.
Reinvigorating the growth engine of the European economy through sufficient provision of capital is a responsibility taken seriously by ING. We will continue to support the European Union and other key players in its efforts to improve the businessclimate for Europe's entrepreneurs.
 |
|
What the Chiefs Say is a public affairs platform designed for senior executives from leading organisations to voice their expectations and concerns.
In this issue, business and industry leaders present to Europe’s policymakers their policies and priorities.
|
All contributions in this section:
|
|
|