increase in cross - border activity and market integration has taken place in wholesale activities. for example, the currency - based segmentation of the markets for unsecured interbank deposits disappeared very quickly after the euro was introduced. the differences in quotation spreads across countries fell during the first weeks of 1999 to an average of around two basis points from significantly higher levels. these spreads are deemed to indicate normal thresholds, beyond which arbitrage is no longer profitable. wider price differentials still prevail in the repo market, reflecting lower liquidity and remaining segmentation of the national markets owing to legal and other factors. market integration has not only been reflected in price quotations, but also in trading volumes. the share of cross - border transactions currently accounts for more than 50 % of overall activity in both the unsecured and repo markets. some large institutions are starting to act as “ money centre ” banks assuming an area - wide scope of activity. the smaller institutions still mainly operate with their domestic counterparts, but nonetheless benefit from the equalised market conditions. accordingly, the share of cross - border transactions in the large - value payment transfers through the target system has been increasing - from 36 % in the first quarter of 1999 to 41 % in the fourth quarter. the values exchanged cross - border are of substantial magnitude. the average daily value of target cross - border payments is close to 400 billion euro, representing mostly interbank payments. in addition, a large amount of payments is channelled through euro 1 ( eba ) and euro access frankfurt. in addition to the single monetary policy and the creation of the single risk - free yield curve, two main reasons explain the rapid integration of the wholesale activities in the euro area - of the market for unsecured interbank deposits in particular. first, the smooth functioning of the settlement of cross - border payments, mainly performed through the target system, allows banks to trade safely throughout the euro area. second, the swift acceptance of euro area indices ( eonia and euribor ) forms a common basis for pricing. the experience with target demonstrates the importance of the market infrastructure in allowing arbitrage to operate effectively. the unsecured market can rely entirely on target for settlement, while no similar integrated system exists for the clearing and settlement of securities and for managing collateral at the cross - border level, relevant for repo transactions and for all securities transactions in general. for instance, there are currently 22 securities settlement systems in the euro area,

annulment or revocation of the authorizations issued by the bank of italy to bpl ( now bpi ) whereby the latter had been progressively authorized to raise its holding in banca antonveneta to 29. 9 per cent. these applications were examined by the lazio administrative court, which on 28 april dismissed the applicant ’ s request for suspension of the authorizations and then issued its ruling on the merits of the case, dated 13 - 19 july and filed on 9 august. the administrative court recognized the full legitimacy of the acts of the bank of italy. the judges preliminarily excluded that bpl had been granted favoured treatment with the issue of its authorizations in less time than had been taken for abn amro, since the two applications involved different situations ( bpl ’ s directed towards the acquisition of minority albeit qualifying holdings, abn ambro ’ s towards the acquisition of control ), that merited distinct evaluations. in this regard, i recall that the examination for the granting of authorization to acquire control of antonveneta lasted 52 days for abn ambro and 80 days for bpi. in stating the grounds for its ruling, the administrative court underscored that the go - ahead for the transaction was “ formulated in such as way as to reconcile the preeminent needs of banking supervision with the characteristic dynamism of market transactions ”, and affirmed that the authorization for bpi to increase its interest in antonveneta up to 29. 9 per cent came at the end of “ an examination that appears to have been complete and appropriate ” and that the bank of italy had evaluated the sustainability of the transaction from the “ standpoint of sound and prudent management ”. furthermore, the court confirmed the correctness of the conduct of the bank of italy, on the grounds that “ the bank of italy is required to verify not so much the current amount of the applicant ’ s own funds in relation to the entire planned acquisition, as the adequacy and practical feasibility of the proposed plan for capital strengthening, thereby making a forecast, with a high degree of technical discretion, in which its institutional functions are ultimately manifested ”. the administrative court also explicitly ruled that supervisory indications imparted at the time of granting an authorization are not conditions for the effectiveness of the authorization ; they constitute accessory elements by way of guidance. consequently, supervening developments do not impinge on the effects of the authorization measure or its legitimacy, but are relevant, on