Financial Locations: Frankfurt’s place and perspectives

The introduction of a common currency as well as the harmonization of rules and regulationsin Europe has significantly reduced distance in all its guises. With shrunken costs ofovercoming space, this emphasizes centripetal forces and it should foster consolidation offinancial activity. In a national context, as a rule, comparable developments have led to theemergence of one financial center. Hence, Europeanization of financial and monetary affairscould foretell the relegation of some European financial hubs such as Frankfurt and Paris tothird-rank status. Frankfurt’s financial history is interesting insofar as it has lost (in the1870s) and regained (mainly in the 1980s) its preeminent place in the German context.[...]