European Union threatens to crack down on retail banking
EUROPEAN Union regulators threatened to crack down on banks for hindering competition in retail services such as current accounts, intensifying scrutiny of the financial industry in a yearlong probe, Bloomberg News reported. The European Commission in Brussels said it found evidence of anticompetitive practices in retail banking, stopping short of naming wrongdoers, in a preliminary analysis of its investigation posted on its Website on Friday. The "market characteristics may give rise to competition concerns such as the creation of artificial entry barriers," the report said. "These practices or arrangements can be addressed by antitrust action."
The commission, the EU's regulatory arm, is pushing to open up competition in banking as growing numbers of lenders look to expand abroad. Banks making acquisitions abroad in the past year include BNP Paribas SA of France, UniCredit SpA of Italy and ABN Amro Holding NV, the largest Dutch bank.
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