Contents
1 Setting the scene                                      1
  Banks, money and the payments system                   2
  Banks as intermediaries                                4
  The role of a bank                                     6
  The threat from non-banks and near-banks               7
  Are credit cards a threat to banks?                    14
  E-banking: competition from non-banks and near-banks   16
  Conclusions                                            17
2 The challenges                                         20
  The squeeze on bank interest income                    20
  Developments in capital markets                        24
  Decline in corporate bank lending                      30
  The euro and the customer                              31
  Some conclusions                                       32
3 Transparency and accountability                        33
  New accounting standards                               33
  Developments in corporate governance                   34
4 France: seven slices of the cake                       46
  The banking system                                     47
  Government-sponsored savings                           51
  Banking strategies                                     53
  Conclusion                                             57
5 Germany: a level playing field                         59
  The cooperative banks                                  60
  The Sparkassen                                         61
  The mortgage banks                                     62
  The EC judgements                                      62
  The impact of the EC                                   65
  The impact of tax reforms                              67
  Retail banking strategy                                69
6 Italy: fast-track banking                              75
  Developments in the 1990s                              75
  Banking strategies                                     83
7 Spain: off to a flying start                           89
  Early deregulation                                     89
  Two main categories of bank                            90
  Banking strategies                                    100
8 Scandinavia: a silver lining                          106
  The banking crisis                                    106
  Banking strategies                                    112
9 Netherlands: an early consolidator                    117
  The major banks                                       117
  Room for manoeuvre                                    120
  Banking strategies                                    121
10 UK: another early consolidator                       125
  The banking system                                    125
  Mergers and acquisitions                              126
  The current state of banking                          128
  Banking strategies                                    133
  Appendix: the demutualisation of UK building societies 139
11 Looking to the future                                 142
  The technology process and innovation                  142
  Banking customers and the dynamics of change           146
  Technological developments                             149
  Implementation issues                                  154
  Conclusions                                            156
12 Who will jump first?                                  157
   Aiming at growth                                      158
   Growth through M&A                                    159
   The role of the European Commission                   164
Should they merge?                                       166
Appendix                                                 173
Index                                                    187