Monetary Union delivered a yield curve after the transition that was fully in line with the benchmark set by the most credible national currencies before EMU. As a result, in some euro area countries, medium and long-term market interest rates fell to unprecedented levels when the euro was introduced and have remained there since.
Consolidation and move towards Universal Banking We are slowly but surely moving from a regime of “large number of small banks” to “small number of large banks.” The new era is going to be one of consolidation around identified core competencies. Mergers and acquisitions in the banking sector are going to be the order of the day.