Banking Deregulation And The New Competition In Financial Services

Financial institutions in developed countries have undergone a profound structural change in recent years. As a result, banking has become internationalized and competition has intensified within vast and complex markets for a range of financial services. This book reviews these changes.

Financial intermediation and financial services industries have undergone many changes in the past two decades due to deregulation, globalization, and technological advances. The framework for regulating finance has seen many changes as well, with approaches adapting to new issues arising in specific groups of countries or globally. The objectives of this paper are twofold: to review current international thinking on what regulatory framework is needed to develop a financial sector that is stable, yet efficient, and provides proper access to households and firms; and to review the key experiences regarding international financial architecture initiatives, with a special focus on issues arising for developing countries. The paper outlines a number of areas of current debate: the special role of banks, competition policy, consumer protection, harmonization of rules-across products, within markets, and globally-and the adaptation and legitimacy of international standards to the circumstances facing developing countries. It concludes with some areas where more research would be useful.

During the 1980s, deregulation became adopted as a slogan and set of practices which by setting market forces free could increase the efficiency of market systems. This was particularly the case in the financial services where national systems which had been closed through government and industry collaboration were now opened up to more internal and international competition. This book examines the consequences of deregulation in retail financial services. It shows that organisation and actors sought to adapt to this process, often with unexpected results.

A distinguished economist examines competition, regulation, and stability in today's global banks Does too much competition in banking hurt society? What policies can best protect and stabilize banking without stifling it? Institutional responses to such questions have evolved over time, from interventionist regulatory control after the Great Depression to the liberalization policies that started in the United States in the 1970s. The global financial crisis of 2007–2009, which originated from an oversupply of credit, once again raised questions about excessive banking competition and what should be done about it. Competition and Stability in Banking addresses the critical relationships between competition, regulation, and stability, and the implications of coordinating banking regulations with competition policies. Xavier Vives argues that while competition is not responsible for fragility in banking, there are trade-offs between competition and stability. Well-designed regulations would alleviate these trade-offs but not eliminate them, and the specificity of competition in banking should be accounted for. Vives argues that regulation and competition policy should be coordinated, with tighter prudential requirements in more competitive situations, but he also shows that supervisory and competition authorities should stand separate from each other, each pursuing its own objective. Vives reviews the theory and empirics of banking competition, drawing on up-to-date analysis that incorporates the characteristics of modern market-based banking, and he looks at regulation, competition policies, and crisis interventions in Europe and the United States, as well as in emerging economies. Focusing on why banking competition policies are necessary, Competition and Stability in Banking examines regulation's impact on the industry's efficiency and effectiveness.

The theme of this book "New strategies for financial services providers" is an equally relevant and important topic in science and practice. In the (post) informa tion age economy, the German financial services market and many big financial services providers are in a deep crisis. Increasing competition due to deregulation and improved transparency through new means of communication on the one hand, and empowered customers demanding individualized solutions for their fi nancial problems e. g. because of new working circumstances, increase the pres sure on the market participants to alter their strategies according to these new challenges. Many firms have reacted defensively either by merging in the hopes of realizing scale effects - a high-risk venture considering the last few years - or by adapting "me-too-strategies" (also known as "lemming-banking") that do not provide for a sustainable competitive advantage. Based on a profound analysis of developing mega-trends in the years ahead, es pecially in information and IT-intense market, Dr. Kundisch develops a new anti cyclical strategy that aims at using IT as an enabler to strengthen customer rela tionships and focus on individualized solutions wherever it seems economically sound to do so. However, he does not stop after the development of the strategy, but provides two important concepts that may help turn this vision and strategy into reality. Thus, he favorably and refreshingly differentiates against many contributions that stop at the fairly abstract strategic level.

Financial services businesses are leading the way towards the global economy, yet they are in a state of turbulence. Where financial services are today, other industries such as electronics, computers, telecommunications, and air transport will be in the near future. This book describes why this is happening and how companies are tackling the challenge of this volatile environment. The first part describes the causes of this volatility through new government regulations, shifts in customer behavior, the impact of new technology, and more aggressive global competition. The second part of the book contains case study material from international companies including managing the portfolio of a global financial services organization and corporate development for an international bank. Driving Strategic Change in Financial Services is an essential tool for understanding the global climate in financial services and for mastering the task of developing an international company. Executives, policy-makers, and managers in banking and other markets such as electronic commerce will find valuable insights and useful case material. Features