The European Central Bank (ECB) presented its “Report on the banking structure of the EU” in Frankfurt last week. This is an annual report that reviews the situation of the banking system in EU member states. There are two main conclusions in the Report: on the one hand, the growth of the level of integration of the European banking system, due to the consolidation of the monetary union, necessarily causes not only an overall diminution in the number of banks (less 23% in the last seven years, for a total of 7444 banks) but also a growth of the level of competition between them, with economic advantages for customers already being felt in the short term; on the other, the enlargement to Eastern Europe involves “high strategic risks” for the EU banking system, in particular for those inside the new member states. In spite of that points out the ECB, which at the same time calls the ownership of banks in the new EU countries by groups in the old EU countries “significant” the growth of the banking structure of eastern Europe is sound both in terms of performance and in terms of services to families. For further information, consult the website www.ecb.eu.int
