Could there be a continental European capitalism? - Natixis

Many people are championing the construction of a continental European model of capitalism that would pay heed to the situation of all stakeholders in companies and not only their shareholders, unlike the case of Anglo-Saxon shareholder capitalism, points out Patrick Artus, Research Analyst at Natixis.

Key Quotes

“But can a specific capitalism be built in continental Europe if European companies are largely owned by shareholders from the world of Anglo-Saxon capitalism? Herein lies one precondition to the implementation of this European model of capitalism: share ownership by European savers must increase substantially to give them control over continental European (euro-zone) companies.”

“How can share ownership be increased in the euro zone?

So share ownership in the euro zone must be increased to reduce the weight of shareholders from the world of Anglo-Saxon shareholder capitalism and to be able to develop a different model of capitalism that is mindful of all the company’s stakeholders in the euro zone.

But how can share ownership by euro-zone savers/investors be increased?

The answer is quite clear:

- Change the regulations (Solvency II) that limit share ownership by institutional investors;

- Introduce a larger element of funded pension schemes (pension funds) in the way pensions are managed.”