Of course, all of this concerns the investment decisions in individual banking establishments, but I am confident that banks which can offer payment services of the quality envisaged by the SEPA will have competitive advantages.
As outlined already, for the ECB, as a supranational institution, the cross-border dimension of the banking sector in the EU, and the related regulatory and supervisory issues, are of particular interest. At the ECB, we see the ongoing consolidation of the European banking sector as a predominantly market-driven process.