American banks currently have some of “the best balance sheets in a generation” as they enjoy accelerating revenue growth from higher interest rates, he explained.
In contrast, Europe appears to be well behind the curve.
“I can’t believe it’s taken this long for some of the capital raises for the European banks, this is seven years after U.S. banks raised over a couple hundred million dollars,” Mayo said.
A number of euro zone lenders have recently announced capital increases — last week, Deutsche Bank said it would raise $8.5 billion while Italy’s UniCredit raised $13.8 billion last month.
U.S. banks are winning market share from their European peers, and are further along with their restructuring, Mayo noted.
Both Asian and European banks haven’t seen their balance sheets increase as much as those in the U.S., he said.
“In terms of safety, the global banking system is more sound footing, led by the U.S, but in terms of growth, we’ve seen deceleration outside of the U.S.”
