World faces €30 trillion financing gap, Santander report warns

By Jesús Aguado

MADRID, Nov 3 (Reuters) - Spain's Santander said on Tuesday that the world faces a financing gap of around €30 trillion ($33.6 trillion) over the next five years, mainly in investment needs linked to the energy transition but also to AI and defence.

It said in a report that preliminary estimates for the period between 2026 and 2030 suggested the world needed to invest around €50 trillion in total and, given the financing sources and expected growth rate, the resulting financing gap would reach around €30 trillion.

It also said that population ageing pushes up healthcare expenditure and increases pressure on pensions and budgets.

Combining mitigation and adaptation for climate financing, including required grids, renewables, storage and electrification, Santander estimated that climate accounted for between €22 trillion and €26 trillion of the financing gap for 2026-2030.

Financing these transitions would require public-private collaboration, Santander said, adding that banks would have to structure projects, mobilise deposits and support companies.

The annual UN climate summit, which begins in Turkey's Antalya on November 9, is expected to address issues like climate finance for the developing world.

During the bank's international banking conference held in Madrid, Ana Botin, Santander's executive chair, called on Europe to create conditions for banks to finance investment to revive economic growth.

"Europe needs a banking system built for growth, not just stability," she said.

International Monetary Fund chief Kristalina Georgieva said at the same event that one of the risks to global growth was the high level of debt in many economies. 

"The cost of debt service with inflation pushing rates is becoming suffocating for governments and is bad for business and households," Georgieva said.

Botin also said that European policymakers needed to channel the region's large savings pool into the local economy. 

European households hold around €32 trillion in net financial wealth and save roughly €600 billion a year, about half of which is invested abroad, mainly in the United States, she said.

"We should keep a bit more of that within Europe," Botin said.

($1 = 0.8937 euros)

(Reporting by Jesús Aguado; editing by Emma Pinedo and Xevi Fontdegloria)