Table Of ContentTHE COMPETITIVENESS OF FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS
AND CENTRES IN EUROPE
FINANCIAL AND MONETARY POLICY STUDIES
Volume 28
*Published on behalf of the
Societe Universitaire Europeenne de Recherches Financieres (SUERF),
consisting of the lectures given
at the 18th Colloquium, held in Dublin, Ireland, May 1994
The titles published in this series are listed at the end of this volume.
The Competitiveness of
Financial Institutions
and Centres in Europe
Edited by
DONALD E. FAIR and ROBERT RAYMOND
Published on behalf of the Societe Universitaire Europeenne de Recherches
Financieres (SUERF)
with contributions from:
Jean-Paul Abraham Laura Mollame
Michel Aglietta Andrew Newton
Harald Benink Richard O'Brien
Sigbj¢rn Berg Maurice O'Connell
Niklaus Blattner Thomas O'Connell
Philip Bourke Francisco Perez
Philip Davis Reinhard Petschnigg
Christian de Boissieu Stefan Pintjens
Michel Dietsch Javier Quesada
Lars Engwall David Raikes
Gerhard Fink Lucio Rondelli
Peter Haiss George Sheldon
Gerd Hausler Jacques Sijben
Hilary Ingham Patrick Simonnet
Neil Kennedy Mart Sorg
Mervyn Lewis Wataru Takahashi
David Llewellyn Hiroo Taguchi
Rainer Masera Steve Thompson
Pietro Modiano Virna Valenti
Per Mokkelbost
SPRINGER-SCIENCE+BUSINESS MEDIA, B.V.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
The competltlveness of flnanclal lnstltutlons and centers In Europe
edlted by Donald Falr.
p. CI. -- (Flnanclal and lonetary pollcy studles : v. 28)
ISBN 978-90-481-4469-3 ISBN 978-94-015-8350-3 (eBook)
DOI 10.1007/978-94-015-8350-3
1. Flnanclal servlces lndustry--Europe. 2. Flnanclal
lnstltutlons--Europe. 3. COlpetltlon. ·Internatlonal. 1. Falr.
Donald E. II. Serles: Flnanclal and monetary pollCy studles : 28.
HG186.A2C653 1994
332. 1 '094--dc20 94-23317
ISBN 978-90-481-4469-3
Printed on acid-free pap er
AII Rights Reserved
© 1994 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht
Originally published by Kluwer Academic Publishers in 1994
Softcover reprint ofthe hardcover lst edition 1994
No part ot the material protected by this copyright notice may be reproduced or
utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical,
including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and
retrieval system, without written permission from the copyright owner.
Table of Contents
Preface ix
About the Editors and Authors xi
Part A
OPENING ADDRESSES
Chapter I Introduction
by Christian de Bouissieu 3
Chapter II The Irish Financial Sector in the European Context
by Maurice O'Connell 5
Chapter III European Financial Intermediaries and Markets:
Lines of Development in an International Context
by Rainer Masera 9
Chapter IV Is Competitiveness a Dangerous Obsession in the
Financial World?
by Jean-Paul Abraham 29
PartB
TECHNOLOGIES, PRODUCTS AND MARKETS
Chapter V Banking on Real Estate
by Mervyn K. Lewis 47
Chapter VI Les Surcapacit6s Bancaires en France
by Michel Dietsch 73
Chapter VII The Screen-Based Market in Government Securities
in Italy
by Lucio Rondelli 97
v
vi Table of Contents
Chapter VIII Economies, Inefficiencies and Technical Progress
in Swiss Banking
by George Sheldon 115
PartC
THE STRATEGIES OF FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS
Chapter IX Efficiency and Banking Strategies in Spain
by Francisco Perez and Javier Quesada 135
Chapter X A Case Study on Business Strategies of Austrian Banks
by Gerhard Fink, Peter Haiss and Reinhard Petschnigg 151
Chapter XI Estonian Strategies in the Reconstruction of its
Monetary System
by Mart Sorg 171
Chapter Xli Wholly-Owned Ventures Versus Strategic Alliances in
Financial Services Diversification
by Hilary Ingham and Steven Thompson 183
Chapter XIII New Competitive Strategies in the Italian
Financial Services Industry
by Pietro Modiano, Laura Elisabetta Mollame and Virna Valenti 199
Chapter XIV Bridge, Poker and Banking
by Lars Engwall 227
PartD
COMPETITIVENESS AND THE COMPETITIVE POSITION OF
INTERNATIONAL CENTRES IN EUROPE
Chapter XV The Paris MATIF in the Light of Globalization and Intense
Competition
by Patrick Simonnet 243
Chapter XVI The Competitive Position of Germany as a Financial
Centre as Seen by a Central Banker
by Gerd Hausler 253
Table of Contents vii
Chapter XVII Dublin's International Financial Services Centre:
A Review
by Thomas O'Connell and Neil Kennedy 265
Chapter XVIII Japan's Financial Markets: Their Competitiveness
and Internationalization
by Wataru Takahashi and Hiroo Taguchi 285
Chapter XIX The Internationalisation of the Belgian Banking
Sector: A Comparison with the Netherlands
by Stefan Pintjens 301
Chapter XX Competition and Financial Centres in Europe:
London as a Case Study
by David Raikes and Andrew Newton 313
Chapter XXI The Swiss Financial Centre Revisited
by Niklaus Blattner 335
PartE
REGULATORY ISSUES AND THE MANAGEMENT OF SYSTEMIC
RISKS IN THE NEW COMPETITIVE ENIRONMENT
Chapter XXII Financial Fragility and Macroeconomic
Performance: An Overview
by Jacques J. Sijben 353
Chapter XXIII Market Liquidity Risk
by E. Philip Davis 381
Chapter XXIV Bank Stability, Deposit Insurance and Regulation
by Philip Bourke 403
Chapter XXV Les Systemes de Paiements dans L'integration
Europeenne: Enjeu pour les Banques Centrales
by Michel Aglietta 419
Chapter XXVI Deregulation and Financial Fragility:
A Case Study of the UK and Scandinavia
by Harald A. Benink and David T. Llewellyn 443
viii Table of Contents
Chapter XXVII Default Risk Exposure in Foreign Exchange Rate
Derivatives
by Per B. Mokkelbost 465
Chapter XXVIII Governments' Strategies: the Nordic Banking
Industries after the Crises
by Sigbj¢rn Atle Berg 479
PartF
CONCLUDING ADDRESS
Chapter XXIX General Report on the Colloquium
by Richard O'Brien 497
Preface
The papers collected in this volume are those presented at the eighteenth
Colloquium arranged by the Societe Universitaire Europeenne de Recherches
Financieres (SUERF), which took place in Dublin in May 1994.
The Society is supported by a large number of central banks and com
mercial banks, by other financial and business institutions and by personal
subscriptions from academics and others interested in monetary and financial
problems. Since its establishment in 1963, it has developed as a forum for
the exchange of information, research results and ideas among academics
and practitioners in these fields, including central bank and treasury officials
responsible for formulating and applying monetary and financial policies,
national and international.
A major activity of SUERF is to organise and conduct Colloquia on subjects
of topical interest to its members. The titles, places and dates of previous
Colloquia for which volumes of the collected papers were published are
noted on the last page of this volume.
In choosing "The Competitiveness of Financial Institutions and Centres in
Europe" as the general theme for the Dublin Colloquium the SUERF Coun
cil noted that competition between financial centres and between financial
institutions has increased dramatically under the influence of several factors:
information and telecommunication technologies, the deregulation process
and associated reregulation (prudential rules), implementation of the single
market in Europe, the new strategies of institutions and centres facing new
competitive conditions, and so on. Fragility is transferred from the real econ
omy to the financial sector and vice-versa through several channels. Low real
growth, intense competition and increasing domestic risks (e.g. in the real
estate market), have increased banks' fragility. Conversely, financial inter
mediaries are becoming more cautious and, in some extreme cases, may
implement a credit crunch. The purpose of the Colloquium was to assess the
new competitive situation, to analyze the determinants, forms and implica
tions of competition, and to review the factors of competitiveness for financial
institutions, markets and centres.
ix
D. E. Fair and R. Raymond (Eds.), The Competitiveness of Financial Institutions and Centres in Europe, ix-x.
© 1994 Kluwer Academic Publishers.
