| level | mergers | competition |
| brought | shows | survey |
| cause | per | number |
| single | spread | across |
Mergers and Acquisitions to Reduce Europe's Overbanking
Europe is vastly overbanked and overbranched, according to a recent_______of 100 European banks from 13 countries.
The survey_______that the UK is the least overbanked country in Europe, with two banks _______ million people, while central Europe is the most overbanked, that is, Germany (44), Switzerland (58) and Austria (131). Southern Europe – Italy, Portugal and Spain is overbranched rather than overbanked. Europe as a whole has 23 banks per million population.
The survey concludes that the_______of banks in Europe is set to fall by over a quarter in the next 10 years, or by about 2,300, of which 1,300 will be in Central Europe, since the bank extinction rate of the last 10 years is likely to continue.
The survey concludes that_______in banking has forced down the rate of return on assets to an uneconomic_______. The main competitors have been the securities and insurance industries. The decline in overbanking will be _______ about mainly through mergers and acquisitions.
Other conclusions include the prediction that there will be more domestic than cross-border_______many of which will involve small savings and mutual banks, merging in some cases with commercial banks.
Bankers see European economic and monetary union (EMU) as the single most important_______of the decline in the number of banks, linked with competition and technology.
The Euro will bring down the barriers to the_______banking market and make bank interest rates lower, more transparent and more competitive. The_______of telephone and electronic banking will reduce the need for branches and accentuate competition both within and_______borders.
Words you may need:
acquisitionn ïðèîáðåòåíèå, ïîãëîùåíèå
extinctionn âûìèðàíèå
force downv ñíèæàòü
the rate of returníîðìà ïðèáûëè
predictionn ïðåäñêàçàíèå; (çä.) ïðîãíîç
transparentadj ïðîçðà÷íûé
accentuatev ïîä÷åðêèâàòü