Goldman CEO slams EU regulations as growth-killing amid crypto clampdown

Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon urged Europe to reconsider its extensive regulatory requirements since they burden companies unnecessarily. He said Europe remains an outlier in terms of the overbearing, duplicative, and costly obligations it places on firms.

According to Solomon, Europe’s financial system has been criticized for its national-level regulations, overlapping reporting obligations, and slow progress on capital markets and banking union reforms. The region’s financial system is also often seen as a barrier to investment.

Solomon says the EU’s regulations hinder growth 

Elon Musk: Radical deregulation is necessary in Europe. If that means leaving the EU, it means leaving the EU.

“Europe is overregulated. There are too many rules and regulations that make it very difficult to create a company and do too much to protect large companies at the… pic.twitter.com/XUJy94duko

— ELON CLIPS (@ElonClipsX) June 9, 2025

Solomon also mentioned that companies, analysts, and investors argue that Europe’s rules raise costs, complicate cross-border activity, and put the bloc at a disadvantage to the U.S. and other economies. He added that the EU’s biggest challenge is that countries can veto reforms to protect narrow national interests. 

The chief of the world’s largest investment bank acknowledged that the challenge has consistently weakened the bloc’s economic, financial, and geopolitical power. He believes that reducing or eliminating the EU’s regulations could re-establish its growth in the global economy.

“If you want an applied example of regulating, killing increasing yields, and exterminating economic growth; look no further, just look around for Europe is the best example where regulations are killing economic growth.”

–Javier Milei, President of Argentina.

He also hopes EU officials will roll back regulations that have prevented balanced growth in capital markets and consolidation in the sector. The bank’s official believes more fiscal action in the bloc would benefit growth.

Solomon’s remarks come as initial European public offerings trail the U.S. due to weaker valuations and patchy investor demand. He argued that member states must play their part in building pools of long-term capital to channel financing more forcefully into both public and private markets.

According to data from Dealogic, Goldman Sachs earned the highest fees in the first quarter from advising clients on deals in Europe. The financial institution was ranked second by revenue earned in the bloc’s investment banking league tables.

In the firm’s first-quarter earnings report, Solomon warned that this second quarter has seen a different operating environment. On the subsequent earnings call, he urged people to go slow and take a pause until there’s more clarity around geopolitical issues.

In the wake of the upcoming tariff deadline in July, Solomon warned in April that the current level of policy uncertainty wasn’t healthy. Goldman Sachs’ CEO argued that the policy actions to date have raised the level of uncertainty to a degree he doesn’t think is healthy for investment and growth.

EU introduces new regulations

Meanwhile in Europe..
Europe's leading industry is bureaucracy

"National authorities and supranational organizations are cranking out new rules and regulations at the speed of assembly lines. Vast documentation is demanded to prove compliance, which eats up company resources… pic.twitter.com/1FbPREkBZJ

— Irena (@irenaporia) June 23, 2025

The EU wants to introduce new measures under its Anti-Money Laundering Regulation to track cryptocurrency transfers. The bloc aims to gather data on both senders and recipients of funds, expanding transparency within crypto asset service providers.

The bloc revealed that, from 1 July 2027, crypto exchanges and custodial services will be prohibited from engaging with anonymous wallets and privacy coins. The regulations also mandate regular checks for self-hosted wallets, requiring verification for transactions over 1,000 euros.

Monero developer Riccardo Spagni argued that the regulations could drive privacy-focused firms to relocate to jurisdictions that support privacy rights. He also warned that the bloc’s approach could hinder innovation and push parts of the crypto economy into the black market.

The European Commission has recently adopted several regulations supplementing the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCAR), which introduce obligations for Crypto-Asset Service Providers (CASPs). The two regulations include the Delegated Regulation on Complaints Handling by CASPs and the Delegated Regulation on Business Continuity and Regularity in Crypto-Asset Services.

The Commission Delegated Regulation on Complaints Handling by CASPs establishes procedures for handling client complaints to enhance transparency and fairness. CASPs are now required to implement a structured and transparent system that allows clients to submit complaints free of charge. Complaints must also be accepted in the languages used to market services and in the official languages of the CASP’s home and host EU Member States.

The Commission Delegated Regulation on Continuity and Regularity in the Performance of Crypto-Asset Services aims to enhance operational resilience by ensuring that CASPs have robust continuity measures in place. The management entity of each CASP is responsible for designing, endorsing, and annually reviewing the business continuity plan to ensure its effectiveness.

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