This will test regulators and supervisors, for whom the challenge will be to create rules of the game that are robust to fad, fashions and arbitrage. There are several consequences of the characteristics I have mentioned and to which will I return. However, one, consolidation, has itself become a characteristic of the present environment.
I believe consolidation has much further to run in many countries. So far, it has mainly taken place within national markets, and within particular sectors. Looking ahead, however, cross-border and crossfunctional mergers and alliances seem increasingly likely. II.