The European Banking Authority (EBA) today published a benchmarking analysis of diversity practices at over 850 EU credit institutions and investment firms, revealing persistent gender imbalances and pay gaps at senior management levels as of December 2024. The report, released on April 23, 2026, shows that nearly half of institutions have no women among their executive directors, women account for only 12% of CEOs across the EU, and male executive directors earn on average 10% more than their female counterparts. The EBA calls on institutions to promote balanced gender representation and on competent authorities to assess diversity and pay gap practices in supervisory reviews.
Document details and nature The EBA's report is a non-binding benchmarking analysis based on data from 704 credit institutions and 163 investment firms across the EU, plus Liechtenstein and Iceland. It covers gender, age, educational and professional background, and geographical representation, and includes interactive visualisations on diversity policies, gender distribution, and gender pay gaps. The report follows the EBA's ongoing mandate to monitor diversity and remuneration practices, with previous data collections since 2015 and pay-gap analysis since 2021.
Key findings and trade-offs The report highlights that around 20% of institutions have no diversity policy, and only 67% have set quantitative targets for gender representation. While representation is higher in supervisory functions, women remain under-represented in leadership roles. The gender pay gap is defined as the difference between average gross hourly earnings of men and women, without adjustments for professional experience or role composition. The inclusion of CEOs, who are predominantly male and receive higher remuneration, increases the observed pay gap—an effect linked to role composition rather than gender alone. The report also finds a positive correlation between gender balance and return on equity (RoE), reinforcing the business case for stronger diversity practices.
Impact on stakeholders - EU banks and investment firms: May face pressure to adopt or strengthen diversity policies and set quantitative targets, potentially increasing administrative costs but possibly improving RoE and corporate reputation. - Female employees: Could benefit from improved career advancement opportunities and reduced pay gaps, though progress may be slow without binding measures. - EU regulators and competent authorities: Expected to intensify supervisory scrutiny of diversity and pay practices, aligning with existing requirements under Directive 2013/36/EU and the Investment Firms Directive. - Investors and shareholders: May gain from enhanced transparency and potential performance improvements linked to gender balance, but could face short-term costs from compliance adjustments.
Expected institutional follow-up The EBA will continue monitoring diversity and remuneration practices, aiming to simplify data templates, adjust data collection and publication frequencies, and improve data quality to enable faster benchmarking results. The report does not propose new binding rules but reinforces existing legal obligations for institutions to adopt diversity policies and gender-neutral remuneration.
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