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...

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...

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...