ECB's Praet says banks shouldn't pin hopes on higher rates

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Euro zone banks should not wait for an eventual increase in the European Central Bank's interest rates to boost their profits, but rather tackle their own issues, such as becoming more efficient, the ECB's chief economist said on Thursday.

"It would be misguided for banks to wait for changes in monetary policy to come to the rescue," Peter Praet said at an event in Brussels.

"Even in a normalisation scenario, the pre-crisis banking world is unlikely to return. Banks face new structural and technological challenges that they have to confront, in particular in terms of raising operational efficiency."

(Reporting By Francesco Canepa and Balazs Koranyi; Editing by Richard Lough)