The author is vice-chair at Oliver Wyman and former global head of banks and diversified financials research at Morgan Stanley
Europe’s ambitions to build out artificial intelligence, data centre and energy infrastructure are colliding with an awkward — and familiar — financing reality: the continent lacks the depth of long-dated investment capital needed to fund them.
The challenge is formidable. Europe may need to invest €3tn over the next five years in digital and energy infrastructure, according to EU estimates — and before defence and national security. Meeting that demand will require funding from every corner of the financial system: public markets, banks, governments and private capital.