Now –and even more so in the future –tough competition in integrating markets force financial market institutions to further improve their performance and increase their efficiency. That is also what share holders want. And to bring these improvements about, streamlined inter-bank payment systems and automated securities settlement systems are required in particular.
BIS Review 82/2005  1  The European financial sector demonstrates, however, significant differences in efficiency, both between institutions and between national banking sectors. This question will be further elaborated in today's presentation by De Nederlandsche Bank's Jacob Bikker, the author of a well-known book in this area.