you what are, in my judgment, the study's key findings and policy implications. these key findings cover thirteen nations ( the g - 10 plus australia and spain ). the study documents high levels of merger and acquisition activity among financial firms during the 1990s and an increasing pace of consolidation, including a noticeable acceleration in the last three years of the decade. most of the consolidation has been within countries and within segments of the financial sector. cross - border and cross - sector consolidations have been less frequent. our research shows that financial consolidation substantially decreased the number of banking firms during the 1990s in almost every country studied and that national concentration of the banking industry tended to increase. financial consolidation has helped to create a significant number of large and, in some cases, increasingly complex, financial institutions. these firms increasingly operate across national borders and are subject to a wide range of regulatory regimes. as for the causes of all this merger and acquisition activity, overall, it appears that the most important forces encouraging financial consolidation are globalization of financial and nonfinancial markets, financial deregulation, improvements in information technology, and increased shareholder pressure for financial performance. because these forces are likely to continue, financial consolidation is likely to continue as well, although the pace may be interrupted by fluctuations in the macroeconomic cycle and other factors. the study considered possible future scenarios but concluded that the likelihood of specific future developments is impossible to assess with confidence. my own guess is that various patterns will emerge. globally active universal financial service providers will continue to develop. we should also see the further development of firms specialized in the production of particular components of financial services or in the distribution to end - users of products obtained from specialized providers – providers that may exist within or outside the traditional financial services industry. i fully expect a large number of efficient and profitable small and medium - sized financial institutions to remain important players in the united states. i would guess this will also be the case in many other nations. in addition, the uncertainties of successful post - merger integration may well favor more use of looser forms of consolidation, such as joint ventures and strategic alliances. the data that we collected suggested a number of conclusions. for example, financial consolidation has increased the concentration of payment and settlement flows among fewer parties. the risk implications of consolidation in payment and settlement systems deserve close monitoring. in addition, the study found that although consolidation has some potential to improve the operating efficiency of the combined financial institutions, and has done so in some cases, the overall

and not on regulatory evasion, which ultimately leaves investors more exposed than they may appreciate. due to the cross - sectoral and cross - border scope of crypto platforms, exchanges, and activities, it is important that regulators work together domestically and internationally to maintain a stable financial system and address regulatory evasion. the same - risk - same - regulatory - outcome principle guides the financial stability board ’ s work on stablecoins, crypto - assets, and defi ; the basel consultation on the prudential treatment of crypto - assets ; the work by the international organization of securities - 5commissions ’ fintech network ; the work by federal bank regulatory agencies on the appropriate treatment of crypto activities at u. s. banks ; and a host of other international and domestic work. 4 in implementing a same - risk - same - regulatory - outcome principle, we should start by ensuring basic protections are in place for consumers and investors. retail users should be protected against exploitation, undisclosed conflicts of interest, and market manipulation — risks to which they are particularly vulnerable, according to a host of research. 5 if investors lack these basic protections, these markets will be vulnerable to runs. second, since trading platforms play a critical role in crypto - asset markets, it is important to address noncompliance and any gaps that may exist. we have seen cryptotrading platforms and crypto - lending firms not only engage in activities similar to those in traditional finance without comparable regulatory compliance, but also combine see, for example, financial stability board ( 2022 ), assessment of risks to financial stability from crypto - assets ( basel, switzerland : fsb, february ), https : / / www. fsb. org / 2022 / 02 / assessment - of - risks - tofinancial - stability - from - crypto - assets ; financial stability board ( 2020 ), regulation, supervision and oversight of “ global stablecoin ” arrangements : final report and high - level recommendations ( basel, switzerland : fsb, october ), https : / / www. fsb. org / wp - content / uploads / p131020 - 3. pdf ; basel committee on banking supervision ( 2022 ), “ consultative document : second consultation on the prudential treatment of cryptoasset exposures ” ( basel, switzerland : bank for international settlements, june ), https : / / www. bis. org / bcbs / publ