An Increasing Role for Competition in the Regulation of Banks

This 2005 paper reviews the recent history of banking regulation. It discusses the market failures banking is exposed to, their macroeconomic consequences, and common regulatory instruments introduced to address them. The report also examines the impact of recent liberalizations on market power in banking and competition issues, addressing the application and scope of competition law and examining issues of enforcement of competition law, with a particular emphasis on merger control.