That would be different if the decline of the banking industry were due to excessive regulation. Excessive regulation would prevent banks from operating more efficiently and from offering new products. This in turn would allow other or new providers of financial services, which are subject to less stringent regulation, to push banks out of the market.
Such a situation would, of course, be highly undesirable. 1  BIS Review 107/1999  III. Strategic responses of banks  As you may have guessed by now, I myself do not believe in the gloomy scenarios. The structural trends I have just identified have obviously prompted banks to reconsider their activities and their distribution channels.