期刊名称：Euro Area Balance of Payments and International Investment Position Statistics
印刷版ISSN：1830-3420
电子版ISSN：1830-3439
出版年度：2004
出版社：European Central Bank
摘要：During the last decade, the European financial landscape has changed dramatically, and the establishment of Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) seems to have accelerated the pace of these changes. One important change has been the continued process of integration in European financial markets, which has brought about a surge in cross-border trading. However, some segments of the market seem to have made greater progress than others in terms of integration. European financial integration is an important issue, since both economic theory and empirical findings suggest that the integration and development of financial markets are likely to contribute to economic growth by removing frictions and barriers to exchange, and by allocating capital more efficiently. To this end, a number of initiatives promoting greater integration in European financial markets, such as the Financial Services Action Plan (FSAP)1, have been pursued and both policy makers and market participants are discussing new ones. While it is generally agreed that deepening financial integration is beneficial on the whole, it is also conceivable that it may have less positive effects. For example, too much consolidation in a market segment might hinder competition.2 As a consequence, it is extremely important to monitor and understand the process of financial market integration. In addition, insofar as policymakers and private agents see good reasons to promote further integration, it is important to measure accurately the state of integration in various segments of the market so that we may identify areas where further initiatives are particularly needed.
