ratio of non - financial corporations ’ bank debt to their financial debt percentages italy france germany united kingdom united states sources : bank of italy for italy ; eurostat and ecb for the euro - area countries ; bank of england for the united kingdom ; federal reserve system for the united states. ( 1 ) bank debt comprises only the loans disbursed by the banks resident in each country. ( 2 ) 2011 data. bis central bankers ’ speeches figure 3 stock market capitalization of non - financial corporations as a percentage of gdp italy france germany united kingdom united states source : based on datastream data. figure 4 ratio of non - financial corporations ’ bond issues to their financial debt percentages italy france germany united kingdom united states sources : bank of italy for italy ; eurostat and ecb for the euro - area countries ; bank of england for the united kingdom ; federal reserve system for the united states. bis central bankers ’ speeches figure 5 non - financial groups : recourse to the international bond market by country of residence of the parent company number of groups issuing bonds gross issues semi - annual data yearly data, billions of euros 95 96 97 98 99 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 19 19 19 19 19 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 germany spain france italy 1 _ 2 _ 5 1 _ 5 2 _ 6 1 _ 6 2 _ 7 1 _ 7 2 _ 8 1 _ 8 2 _ 9 1 _ 9 2 _ 0 1 _ 0 2 _ 1 1 _ 2 _ 2 united kingdom germany spain italy united kingdom france source : based on dealogic data. figure 6 bank income and costs : contributions to growth 2006 - 11 gross income ( - 13. 55 % ) operating costs ( + 1. 60 % ) - 2 administrative expenses - 4 other staff costs - 6 wages and salaries - 8 fee income and other revenues - 10 net trading income - 12 net interest income - 14 source : bank of italy, supervisory reports. bis central bankers ’ speeches figure 7 growth rates of gross income and operating costs by size of bank 2006 - 11 5 largest groups large small minor gross income operating costs - 10 - 20 - 30 - 40 source : bank of italy, supervisory reports. figure 8 bank income and costs : medium - term dynamics index numbers ( 2000 = 100 ) of the series at constant prices ( left - hand scale ) and percentages ( right - hand scale ) cost - income ratio ( % ) gross income operating

suggest that the result could be a reduction in costs of as much as 30 per cent in the medium term. 7 a transformation along these lines is no easy task. it will require changes to banks ’ organization and operating arrangements in order to acquire the necessary technological knowledge, ensure integration among the different distribution channels and train staff to perform new tasks. the business plans of the main listed banking groups do not always appear to be consistent with the above - mentioned objectives. in a number of cases, efficiency gains and productivity increments are based on restructuring of the territorial network and containing the number of staff, without envisaging progress towards multi - channel distribution. for the d. focarelli, f. panetta and c. salleo, “ why do banks merge? ”, journal of money, credit and banking, vol. 34, no. 4, november 2002, pp. 1047 – 66. it is in line with the euro - area average in relation to population ( one branch per 1, 800 inhabitants ). see mckinsey & company, “ day of reckoning for european retail banking ”, 2012. bis central bankers ’ speeches few groups that publish complete information on the subject, investment in ict is limited in amount and allocated mainly to optimizing existing information systems rather than developing virtual channels. in many cases the resources devoted to staff training are modest as well. large - scale use of remote channels requires, above all, full confidence on the part of customers. its absence precludes, for example, the distance marketing of high - unit - value products such as mortgages and retirement savings products. in recent years significant efforts have been made to improve the quality and transparency of communications between banks and customers. the bank of italy has laid down rigorous rules, checking compliance in part through inspections at bank branches. progress has been made, no doubt, but there is still considerable room for improvement, not only in the process of compliance with the large and diversified body of rules but also in actually partaking of the spirit that animates the regulations on transparency and correct conduct. going forward greater recourse to the market by firms and cost cutting are in banks ’ interest ; they are essential for the financing of the real economy. however, they are not the only measures needed to adapt intermediaries ’ business model to the changes brought about by the financial crisis. looking ahead, we must ask what will be the impact of the radical changes that have occurred in the regulatory framework