It is questionable, though, whether this process will follow the same pattern as, for example, in the Netherlands or Sweden, because the share of publicly owned banks has always been much larger in France, Germany and Italy. It is also unlikely that the expected consolidation process will ultimately lead to concentrated banking sectors such as that in the Netherlands.
Indeed, the domestic markets in France, Germany and Italy are bigger and, consequently, offer room for a greater number of viable banks. It will also become increasingly difficult to interpret national concentration ratios in the euro area. Conglomeration A second manifestation of the forces for change is conglomeration in the financial sector.