TY - BOOK ID - 84540344 TI - Italy--assessing competition and efficiency in the banking system AU - Drummond, Paulo Flavio Nacif AU - Maechler, Andrea M. AU - Marcelino, Sandra. AU - International Monetary Fund. PY - 2007 SN - 1462356850 1452780390 1282547011 1451910436 9786613822154 PB - [Washington, D.C.] : International Monetary Fund, European, Finance, and Monetary and Financial Systems Depts, DB - UniCat KW - Banks and Banking KW - Finance: General KW - Macroeconomics KW - Banks KW - Depository Institutions KW - Micro Finance Institutions KW - Mortgages KW - General Financial Markets: General (includes Measurement and Data) KW - Personal Income, Wealth, and Their Distributions KW - General Financial Markets: Government Policy and Regulation KW - Banking KW - Finance KW - Competition KW - Commercial banks KW - Personal income KW - Financial sector stability KW - Banks and banking KW - Income KW - Financial services industry KW - Italy UR - https://www.unicat.be/uniCat?func=search&query=sysid:84540344 AB - The paper assesses the degree of banking competition and efficiency in Italy?over time as well as compared to that in other countries, such as France, Germany, Spain, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The paper finds competition in the Italian banking sector has intensified in loan and deposit markets in recent years, but banks still operate in a highcost, high-income system, particularly with respect to retail/services, and efficiency gains have yet to fully materialize. The degree of competition falls within the range of estimates for a set of comparator countries. Greater contestability should act as a powerful force to drive banks to become more competitive and efficient. Competition policy will also continue to be an important consideration, both in enforcing Italy's antitrust laws and in ensuring that the procedures for dealing with weak banks and other merger and acquisition reviews focus on stability and competition objectives. ER -