Including domestic real-time gross settlement (RTGS) transactions, which themselves accounted for at least another EUR 660 billion, the total value of transactions settled was therefore almost EUR 1,000 billion. This amount corresponds to about 17% of last year’s GDP of the euro area. In the meantime, the total volume of transactions has increased further.
Although regulatory reform is crucial for the stable growth of the financial sector, it can also cause negative side effects in the short term by increasing the cost burdens for financial institutions and thus leading to a contraction of financial activities.