This paper was presented at the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City's Symposium on Monetary Policy and Uncertainty: Adapting to a Changing Economy at Jackson Hole, Wyoming on 28-30 August 2003. The views expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the BIS

This paper first provides a broad overview of current conditions in the banking industry in some of the countries that will participate in European economic and monetary union. It then goes on to identify a number of important forces for change. Some of these are global in nature, but likely to...