"Does size matter? The recent wave of mergers and takeovers in the banking industry suggests that it certainly does. Current thinking is that the smaller will fall, whilst the large will increasingly dominate the market.". "This book examines the reasons behind the changes, beginning by looking at classical economic theories on competition and the firm, and their applications to financial services. The authors proceed to describe how the structure of the market has changed in Europe, as well as the effects of the many changes in both banking and the financial services sector as a whole. The earlier chapters detail classic economic theory and its relevance to the banking sector. Using both theoretical and empirical methods of analysis, many arguments and debates concerning the structure, growth and future development of the banking sector are reviewed and evaluated. In particular this book focuses on the performance of the banking sector over the past decade and considers whether economies of scale do indeed improve competitiveness."--BOOK JACKET.