The emergence of a number of highly liquid euro-denominated exchange contracts has also facilitated banks’ risk management. Concluding remarks Ladies and gentlemen, let me briefly conclude. I have discussed how, under the challenging conditions of the past few years, the EU banking sector has remained robust thanks to a benign combination of cyclical and structural factors.
Nevertheless, a number of challenges remain both for banks and authorities, in particular, in the structural domain. Several EU countries are still faced with excess capacity in their banking systems that will have to be further reduced over time. Likewise, cross-border consolidation might accelerate as mergers and acquisitions pick up again following improved market conditions.