Competition has become fiercer at both the domestic and the international level. The need to achieve a critical mass in order to operate in a market where the geographical boundaries and the supply of products are changing rapidly has prompted reorganizations, concentrations and the formation of conglomerates.
The expansion of asset management has been a major driving force in financial innovation and has contributed everywhere to the erosion of institutional segmentation and to the pressure to change the organization of controls. I shall look first at the evolution of asset management at the international level, before analyzing its development in Italy and the role of banks and other intermediaries.