Summary
Although recent experiences made during the ongoing international financial crisis call for smaller entities in banking systems, consolidation still takes place in many industrialized economies. The often stretched argument that large banks are able to establish economies of scale as well as economies of scope, ignores at least the risks of financial intermediaries becoming ‚too big to fail‘ or ‚too interconnected to fail‘. Our analysis presents reliable evidence that even the assumption that big banks are less inefficient than small ones is far away from being convincing. We apply a range of indicators to test for both performance and risk taking capability of banks in different financial systems. Our findings suggest empirical merits of diversified banking systems and higher systemic risk for financial industries dominated by global players.
© 2011 by Lucius & Lucius, Stuttgart
