Euro Area Retail Banking Markets Integration : An Examination of the Impact of the Euro on the Retail Interest Rate Markets

An integrated market for financial services has been considered an integral part of the European Union's single market project. This is particularly true as finance in continental Europe is traditionally bank-dominated. The creation of a single currency for twelve European member states has been seen by many as a potential common ground for retail banking markets, which is expected to facilitate further integration. This paper investigates the impact of the introduction of the single currency on the degree of integration between the potential retail interest rate markets in the Euro area. Given the non-stationary nature of the retail rate series, the method of cointegration through a VAR specification is employed. In particular, by employing co-integration, market integration will exist when interest rates exhibit a certain long-term equilibrium relationship, by recognizing at the same time that full equalization may not occur. This study focuses on the period from January 1985 to January 2004 as well as on the pre- and post-Euro sub-periods