European banks: The silent (r)evolution

Recent market turmoil and its consequences will negatively impact the earnings of European banks for a considerable time. This reverses a long period of improvements in profitability and efficiency. But: the current environment should not distract from the trends that have favourably shaped the structure of the industry for the last 10 years and will continue to do so: consolidation, internationalisation, convergence and increasing specialisation. In this study, we consider to what extent these trends are going to further shape the banking sector in the foreseeable future.