This has forced banks to merge or find strategic partners. This, plus increased competition, has led to a sharp reduction in the number of banks in BH. In 1997, there were 76 registered banks in BH in 1997 but most of them were extremely small. At present there are 38 registered banks in BH.
But consolidation with the BH banking system has already gone further than this number indicates. For example, around 65% of total deposits are already in the four largest bank groups and the largest 10 banks have around 85% of total deposits. The number of registered banks will therefore reduce further over the next year as consolidation continues.