Can Monetary union Enhance Banking Competition?: A Multicase Study

The deregulation of financial services in the European Union and the development of information technology have fostered recent changes in the European banking industry. This process, that has affected market competition, has been accelerated by the establishment of the Economic and Monetary Union (EMU). This paper makes a comparative analysis of the market conditions for banking sectors in Spain and France (EMU participation countries) and UK and Denmark (not participating in EMU) in order to assess the effects of the adoption of the Single currency in banking market conditions. This comparison is made distinguishing between commercial banks and non-profit financial institutions.