A trend common to virtually all European banking markets over the last decade or so has been the fall in bank numbers. The decline in number of banks and the associated increase in market concentration may suggest that banking service choice is declining. However, a growth in branch numbers in...

On the first of January 1993, the Second Banking Directive (1989) of the European Union and a number of the other EU Directives (1) related to the financial service industry were implemented. This heralded a new episode of deregulation, standardised minimum capital requirements and changes in...

Throughout the industrialised world the banking sector has embarked on a programme of restructuring and consolidation. In Japan the severity of the banking crisis has recently forced both the banking sector and the authorities to recognise deep-rooted problems and to take decisive action. In...

Although a large series of papers have been concerned with macroeconomic issues such as price stability or employment, very few studies have discussed the impact of the euro on the competitive structure of European banking markets. Two questions are being addressed in this paper: How does the...

Seit Mitte der 90er Jahre liegt das deutsche Kreditzinsniveau über dem Durchschnitt der EWU. Worauf ist diese Entwicklung zurückzuführen? Sind die deutschen Banken weniger effizient? Liegt der Zinsunterschied an den hohen Refinanzierungskosten? Gibt es in Deutschland mehr Kreditausfälle,...

Im ifo Schnelldienst Nr. 14/23005 und Nr. 23/2005 wurden einige Beiträge zum "Drei-Säulen-Modell" im deutschen Bankensektor veröffentlicht. Gernot Mittler, der ehemalige Finanzminister von Rheinland-Pfalz, stellt hier seine Ansicht zur Reform im deutschen Bankensystem dar. Seiner Meinung nach...