We are calling for comparisons of banking and banking systems from a spatial perspective. Therefore, this paper develops a classification identifying decentralized and centralized banking according to two characteristics: geographical market orientation (regional vs. supraregional) - to...

As expected, this comparison of the German and the UK banking systems shows substantial differences between the countries. In the UK, savings banks disappeared long ago and other regional banks have never become important in lending to business. Instead, the five large commercial banks dominate...

A comparison of the German banking system with that of the United Kingdom (UK) and Spain shows Germany to be decentralised not only regarding the distribution of banks, but also its financial and political system more generally. Decentralised banks, which are predominantly regional savings banks...

Die dezentralen Sparkassen und Kreditgenossenschaften in Deutschland gelten als prädestinierter Finanzpartner von KMU. Jedoch werden Zweifel an der Bedeutung und Zukunftsfähigkeit dieser mehr als 1.400 kleinen und regionalen Banken geäußert. Exemplarisch zeigen wir auf, dass dezentrale...

Dieser Beitrag untersucht dezentrale Bankensysteme in Deutschland, Spanien und dem Vereinigten Königreich. Der durchgeführte Ländervergleich verdeutlicht, dass das deutsche Bankensystem wie erwartet am stärksten dezentralisiert ist. Dies liegt vor allem an den regionalen und...

By lending to SMEs at low geographical distance, banks can realise competitive advantage due to enhanced access to soft information that allows the better screening of firms. As especially regional banks lend at a low distance, the decentralised German banking system is deemed ideal for SME...

When looking at the Spanish banking market through a German lens, the differences between the banking markets in these countries and between decentralised and centralised systems with regard to the SME ]credit decision ]making process become obvious. Despite our hypotheses that Spanish savings...