In doing so, they would probably have to sell the assets that they had purchased on the expectations of future price gains. In the end, the “deleveraging” process triggered by the policy-induced restriction would ultimately exert a dampening effect on asset price growth.
The number of credit institutions in Germany has been declining steadily since the early 1990s, dropping from nearly 4,500 in 1991 to around 1,800 today. And that number will dwindle further still. But mergers are not the only consolidation tool.