The number of credit institutions in Germany has been declining steadily since the early 1990s, dropping from nearly 4,500 in 1991 to around 1,800 today. And that number will dwindle further still. But mergers are not the only consolidation tool.
Far too little attention is paid to the efficiency gains that have already been tapped in Germany by centralising individual elements of the value-added chain – and are still there to be tapped. This can be done within institutions, in groups of institutions, by forging cooperations or outsourcing operations to third parties, and even across borders.