CEOs issue stark warnings on Europe’s future and the new Trump era, as WEF gathers steam

Speaking on a panel moderated by CNBC’s Steve Sedgwick, former U.S. Treasury Secretary Larry Summers said the technological possibilities ahead of the world have never been brighter.

“We’re going to get into a world where we see a thing like Wegovy and the semaglutides — a miracle drug, a new one — every couple of years,” he said. “And I believe AI will be to the internet as the computer was to the calculator.”

However, he warned that the future was not “automatically going to be okay.”

“The ’20s was a moment of stunning technological possibility, with synthetic fabrics, the automobile, with widespread electrification, and what followed the 20s wasn’t great,” he said.

— Chloe Taylor

Excessive regulation and high energy transition costs risk deindustrializing Europe, prompting frontier industries to move elsewhere, Morten Wierod, CEO of Swiss robotics firm .

— Jenni Reid

Despite President Donald Trump’s previous threat to impose up to 100% tariffs on Chinese imports to the U.S., the relationship between the economic behemoths could improve, the CEO of Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (HKEX) told CNBC Tuesday.

“I’ve been talking to a lot of people and, inevitably, everyone is focused on [Trump’s inauguration], but one thing which I found quite pleasing is the fact that when the topic of U.S.-China relationship comes up, it’s not all one-sided, and I did pick up quite a lot of optimism. So that’s quite encouraging,” Bonnie Chan told CNBC’s Karen Tso on Tuesday.

“It’s still early days. I’m not declaring victory, obviously, but I say that there is still quite a lot of positive things to look forward to,” she said.

Ahead of his inauguration on Monday, Trump had threatened to impose massive tariffs on China, but he stopped short of implementing an immediate tariff policy toward Beijing. He nevertheless warned that tariffs of 25% could be levied against Mexico and Canada as soon as early February.

Rather than worrying about potential tariffs, Chan said HKEX was focused on building its own resilience to geopolitical volatility.

“From our perspective, it is really about maintaining that resilience, so that no matter what happens, we stay the course, and hopefully we bring more more companies to the public market. We continue to really be the super-connector, matching the capital with the opportunities. That’s what we want to focus on,” she said. 

— Holly Ellyatt

There are too many banks in Europe, according to ING CEO Steven van Rijswijk.

Van Rijswijk said if Europe heads towards a Capital Markets Union, where fiscal, monetary and regulatory policies are standardized across European Union member states, then fewer banks will be needed.

“I think there are too many banks in Europe for an efficient capital system,” he told CNBC’s Squawk Box Europe in Davos.

The CEO suggested that fragmented laws across Europe were currently hampering a more efficient banking system, in stark contrast to the United States.

“We see also in Europe that there are different regulations on different elements,” Van Rijswijk said. “Talking about anti-money laundering, GDPR or cyber, there are differences in Europe that hamper [the] efficient way of banks doing business with our customers.”

The U.S. is expected to start a three-year transition towards the Basel III capital framework in the second half of 2025. The Bank of England delayed the implementation of the framework by a year to 2027. However, the EU implemented the framework at the start of this year.

The new capital framework will raise the amount of capital banks will be required to have to lend to customers thereby denting their profit. Van Rijswijk suggested the discrepancy across the various jurisdictions is likely to leave European banks at a disadvantage.

“In the end, it’s about level playing field,” he added.

— Ganesh Rao

Speaking during a panel discussion on the future of growth, Banco Santander Executive Chair Ana Botín said governments need to develop frameworks to kickstart growth “the right way, with redistribution [and] thinking about what AI means.”

“We are not a museum,” she said of Europe. “We are at risk of becoming a museum. But who develops the latest vaccines? A lot of the innovation is actually happening in Europe. We have a huge amount of startups, the issue is they start here and then they go to the United States.”

— Chloe Taylor

Lloyds Banking Group Chief Executive Charlie Nunn has said the lender expects three cuts to interest rates by the Bank of England in 2025, in line with the interest rate swaps market.

Lloyds is one of the largest mortgage lenders in the U.K. and owns high street bank Halifax and Bank of Scotland, as well as credit card provider MBNA.

The bank boss said that while global growth is expected to slow this year, the impact on the U.K. will be relatively smaller owing to its strong services-led export exposure.

“The U.K. remains a really attractive destination, and I think we can get the turnaround in the growth that the government is looking for, and more importantly, our customers need,” Nunn told CNBC’s Squawk Box Europe in Davos.

Nunn also added that the U.K. government had a “real opportunity” to look at deregulation in the banking sector.

Nunn’s comments come after regulators and courts have ruled against the misselling of some auto loans, where Lloyds Banking Group has a multi billion pound exposure through its auto financing subsidiary, Black Horse.

— Ganesh Rao

Novartis CEO Vas Narasimhan said that the pharmaceutical industry hopes to work constructively with the new administration of Donald Trump despite clear clashes with his vaccine-skeptic healthcare head pick Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

“We have a challenge right now because, on the one hand, we have a leader of the department of HHS [U.S. Department of Health and Human Services] who has outwardly said some pretty anti-scientific statements,” Narasimhan said.

“And yet we have to work constructively with this administration to get policy changes that are important for our industry and yet still stand for vaccines, stand for science,” he continued.

Narasimhan added that his company had had positive initial communications with the new administration — even aligning on elements of the MAHA [make America healthy again] agenda and the need for greater innovation in the sector.

“That fits completely with a company like Novartis’ agenda,” he said. “That’s the common ground that we have. And I think we have to start from where we have the common ground.”

CNBC reached out to RFK Jr’s campaign group for comment, but did not immediately receive a response.

— Karen Gilchrist

The global economy is set for steady growth in 2025, and corporate confidence is rising, according to a survey of CEOs by EY.

The survey showed 73% of chief executives surveyed were confident in their company growth prospects, compared to 70% in September and to 64% in January last year.

Tax, regulation and the prospect of trade tariffs remained the big-ticket issues for business leaders, however, with all eyes on President Donald Trump’s policies, as he returned to the White House on Monday.

The president began his second term in office by signing a range of executive orders, including pardoning the Capitol Hill rioters of Jan. 6, 2021, and withdrawing the U.S. from the Paris climate deal.

Janet Truncale, chief executive of EY, told CNBC at the World Economic Forum that, while it was very early days in terms of Trump’s presidency, global chief executives were confident about the year ahead.

“There’s so much to digest over the last 24 hours and there’s going to be so much more, going forward,” she told CNBC’s “Squawk Box Europe” in Davos, Switzerland.

“But with our CEO survey what we’ve seen is a steady increase in confidence over the last year, that’s what’s important because confidence is going to give our clients the ability to make long-term decisions, to create long-term value for their clients and their employees,” she said.

— Holly Ellyatt

Asked if the “merit-based system” touted by newly inaugurated President Donald Trump, and his mission to roll-back DEI initiatives, were a welcome change, Randstad CEO Sander van’t Noordende replied: “no, not at all.”

“The world, business needs everyone on board,” he said. “Talent is looking for a sense of community at work. Why do they say that? Because they’re more productive, they can do a better job. Everybody on board, everybody in an environment where they feel comfortable, is best for business.”

He added that while some businesses were scaling back on DEI, or diversity, equity, and inclusion, programs, most were staying the course.  

“Why? Because it’s good for business,” he said.

— Chloe Taylor

Zurich Insurance CEO Mario Greco said Tuesday that Europe is “lagging behind” on innovation, insisting that it needs to “wake up” if it is to compete with other global markets.

“Europe is always lagging behind. It’s always busy with itself,” Greco told CNBC’s “Squawk Box Europe” at the World Economic Forum in Davos.

Greco insisted that Europe had become too preoccupied with regulation and that it was stifling progress, particularly in new technologies needed to drive growth.

The comments came after President Donald Trump signed a slew of executive orders on his first day in office Monday, including withdrawing from the Paris climate agreement and revoking a 50% electric vehicle target.

“In a world which is going very fast forward, with lots of innovation, it’s a wake up call, again, for Europe. And I hope that Europe takes it seriously,” Greco added.

— Karen Gilchrist

The world has yet to fully recognize the extent of change artificial intelligence will bring to every aspect of human life, the CEO of Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund Mubadala told CNBC at the World Economic Forum in Davos.

“In terms of the risks … this is a technology that no one today really appreciates, truly the level of disruption that it’s going to create, affecting everything from our lives, our businesses, human capital, employment, every sector is going to be disrupted,” Khaldoon Al Mubarak, managing director of the $330 billion fund, told CNBC’s Dan Murphy.

“And I think that while there’s a lot of opportunity, it also presents significant amount of risk, which is today unclear, because the technology is moving so fast and we’re all trying to catch up as much as possible.”

Al Mubarak outlined the push Mubadala has been making into AI and the infrastructure that supports the burgeoning technology, including data centers and chip manufacturing.

Read the whole story here: Abu Dhabi’s $330-billion sovereign wealth fund says no one appreciates the level of disruption that AI is about to unleash

— Natasha Turak

It’s that time of year when the great and the good gather for the annual World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

A slew of heads of state, politicians and business moguls are set to attend the event in the Alpine resort this week — but what might be more telling is which leaders are sidestepping the forum.

These include Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping, as well as French President Emmanuel Macron, Italy’s leader Giorgia Meloni and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva will also be absent from the proceedings this year, while Russian President Vladimir Putin effectively became persona non grata after the 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

Of the Group of Seven (G7) industrialized nations — which includes the U.S., Europe’s biggest economies, Canada and Japan — the only head of state actually attending the summit in person is outgoing German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.

Read the full story here: As WEF gets underway, the list of world leaders not attending Davos speaks volumes

— Holly Ellyatt

CNBC’s anchors will be speaking to a plethora of business leaders on Tuesday, both one-to-one in our special Davos studio, and on CNBC-moderated panels.

Our Tuesday coverage will include interviews with the CEOs of Zurich Insurance, Novartis, EY, Lloyds Banking Group, ING, Allianz, Standard Chartered, ABB and Ericsson, and many others.

We will also be speaking to the governor of the Bank of Israel, Saudi Arabia’s economy minister and Anthony Scaramucci, Trump’s former communications director.

CNBC-moderated panels, with guests from the world of business and politics, include “Industries in the Intelligent Age,” as well as “The Future of Growth” and “Reinventing Digital Inclusion.”

— Holly Ellyatt

The World Economic Forum officially began on Monday, but it’s Tuesday when the event really kicks off.

There are a number of keynote speeches taking place as WEF steps up a gear, with Ursula von der Leyen, head of the European Commission, set to speak at 10:50 a.m. Davos time (9:50 a.m. London time). Shortly after, Ding Xuexiang, the vice premier of China, will give a keynote speech at 11:20 a.m.

In the afternoon, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz will address the forum at 14:00 local time and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will speak at 2:30 p.m.; the forum will be a crucial platform for the president to present Ukraine’s case ahead of likely pressure from President Donald Trump to reach a ceasefire with Russia to end the war.

Later in the afternoon, Cyril Ramaphosa, the president of South Africa, will give a keynote at 3:45 p.m. Davos time.

— Holly Ellyatt