The third edition of the Projective Group Institute, launching 24 September 2026, brings together EU policymakers, banks, market infrastructures and academics as Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Poland and the Netherlands press Brussels to accelerate integration.
Six of the European Union's largest economies have written to the European Commission calling for faster progress on the Capital Markets Union, including handing more supervisory power to the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), as legislative gridlock continues to slow one of Brussels' flagship economic projects. Against that backdrop, the Projective Group Institute is preparing to publish the third edition of its Journal of Financial Services, “Scaling Europe's Financial System”, on 24 September 2026.
The Savings and Investments Union (SIU), the European Commission's March 2025 relaunch of the long-running Capital Markets Union agenda, aims to connect the roughly ten trillion euros in EU household savings currently sitting in low-yielding bank deposits with the region's investment needs. The 2024 Draghi report on European competitiveness put the annual investment gap for the green transition, digital transformation and defence at 750 to 800 billion euros through 2030, a gap banks alone cannot close. EU listed-company market capitalisation stands at around 73% of GDP, compared with 270% in the United States, a structural gap that has defined the CMU and SIU debate for a decade.
I'm based in Brussels, in the same city where the Savings and Investments Union is negotiated, and the distance between the ambition in the room and the reality in the market is still too wide. - Stefan Dierckx, CEO Projective Group
The new letter from Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Poland and the Netherlands, sent to the Commission in May 2026, reflects growing frustration at the pace of reform. It calls for deeper integration of capital markets across borders and for a stronger EU-level role for ESMA, though any such shift needs backing from at least 15 member states representing 65% of the EU population, a threshold that has proved difficult to reach while some states remain reluctant to cede national control over market regulation.
This is the debate the Journal of Financial Services enters. The third edition brings together 17 articles from senior figures across European financial services and academia, including the European Commission's Savings and Investments Union Coordination unit, the Dutch Banking Association, the Association of German Banks, Deutsche Bank, BNY, Euroclear, Clearstream, SIX Group, SMBC Group, PwC Legal and Bruegel, alongside academics from KU Leuven, the University of Naples Federico II, Bocconi University and others.
“I'm based in Brussels, in the same city where the Savings and Investments Union is negotiated, and the distance between the ambition in the room and the reality in the market is still too wide,” said Stefan Dierckx, founder and CEO of Projective Group.
“Europe doesn't lack capital. It lacks the connections that let that capital move. This edition brings together the people writing the rules with the people who have to make them work in practice,” he added.
The UK is modernising its own capital markets in parallel with, and partly in competition with, the EU's integration drive. UK Finance's 2026 delivery priorities under the Chancellor's Leeds Reforms focus on a consolidated equity tape, positioning London as a global centre for securities tokenisation, and cutting regulatory costs by 25%. The Journal's contribution from Julia Kolbe, Head of Capital Markets and UK Policy at Deutsche Bank in London, examines whether a proposed “28th Regime”, an optional EU-wide legal regime sitting alongside national ones, could help European capital markets scale without forcing full harmonisation, a question with direct implications for how UK and EU markets interact after Brexit.
Brussels remains the political centre of the SIU debate, and Belgium's own financial sector has been an active participant in it. At the Belgian Financial Forum in October 2025, ESMA Chair Verena Ross told an audience in Brussels that capital market fragmentation has cost Europe an estimated 8 trillion euros in GDP over three decades, comparing the effect to a 110% tariff on services. Peter Adams, Chief Executive Officer of ING Belgium, sits on the Journal's advisory board, underlining Belgium's position at the intersection of European policymaking and day-to-day banking.
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The Journal of Financial Services is the flagship thought leadership publication of the Projective Group Institute, published in both print and digital format. It features perspectives from senior leaders, academics and clients across European financial services, alongside contributions from Projective Group's own experts. The third edition, “Scaling Europe's Financial System”, launches on 24 September 2026 and examines the Savings and Investments Union from multiple angles: market integration and post-trade infrastructure, financial supervision, sustainable finance, and the practical routes to mobilising European savings. It is produced by the Projective Group Institute.
Leading change in Financial Services. Established in 2006, Projective Group is a leading financial services consultancy. We are recognised across the European industry for turning complex challenges and emerging themes into clear, pragmatic solutions. With deep roots and trusted relationships in financial services, we bring hands-on expertise across key domains. We support the full journey of change: shaping strategy, delivering complex transformation or building long-term capability through managed services, staffing and training. Our purpose is simple: to empower financial services to shape the future of wellbeing, prosperity and innovation.
