The Royal Bank of Scotland Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 6250 words

The Royal Bank of Scotland - Case Study Example Increased merger and acquisition activity, particularly in the banking sector, in Europe has been, and is due to deregulation as contained under the Second Banking Directive that was adopted in 1989, and implemented in 1993 which set the stage for the Euro, and the European Union's transition to a one market economy (Murphy). The preceding was a process undertaken by the European Union in response to developments as represented by " globalisation of markets and finance, the creation of regional economic blocks such as the Union (EU), the North American Free Trade Area (NAFTA), the emergence of newly industrialized countries in Asia or Latin America, the introduction of new technologies in product design and manufacturing, and new forms of firms' organization representing just some of the main features of the new international economic order that is emerging" (Canals 1). 1. It is important to understand is the process of deregulation, as it has had two important effects (Gardener and Versiulujs 2): 1. It, deregulation, has "removed or reduced the economic franchises, increasing competition between banks and financial institutions thereby increasing risk in their balance sheets, rendering them seemingly less sound than their large corporate customers". 2. "second and more subtle but no less important change arise from the ability of the banks to seek new business in much wider fields of activity (for example, such as loan