As was discussed at various sessions during the morning, the European banking sector has undergone considerable consolidation in recent times, and the banking markets in the different EU countries have become fairly similar in terms of their market structures, not least because the euro has created more transparency across national borders.
Thus far, however, the consolidation process has mainly involved mergers and acquisitions (M&As) of relatively small credit institutions within national boundaries, and mostly in countries where the degree of bank concentration was lowest. By contrast, there have been very few cross-border mergers. Indeed, the presence in EU countries of large pan-European banking groups through branches and subsidiaries is relatively limited.