The latest observation, in April 2006, for example, is the forecast of a given country’s average consumer price inflation rate from 2012 through 2016. For both a representative sample of industrial economies (Euro area, Japan, the United States, and the United Kingdom) and emerging-market economies (Brazil, China, Korea, and Mexico), we observe substantial declines from the late 1990s to today.
This has made the need for investment and absorption of new technologies more urgent in terms of both the processes and the relationship with the market (so-called digital banking). In this context, the banking system needs to adopt a proactive stance, assessing the competitiveness and viability of its business model(s) in a timely way, in view of the different segments and products.