The German banking system is characterized by high fragmentation, low profitability and low foreign ownership. Main reason for this is its particular structure that can best be described as forced segmentation. This structure produces local banking markets. The book argues that local bank competition is not as pronounced as national concentration ratios predict and presents a bank pricing study which indicates that local banks, banks located in less densely populated areas and less productive banks tend to charge higher prices for retail bank services than banks that operate nationally. These results as well as lessons drawn from international reforms suggest that the German banking system could benefit from cross-pillar consolidation which promises to export competition from the national to local banking markets. Last but not least, the book analyzes political economy implications of banking reforms and provides suggestions on status quo resolution by identifying ways to facilitate reform implementation in the German banking system.

Umfangreich illustrierte Streiflichter durch die Entwicklung der Urologie und Andrologie von den Steinschneidern bis zum Urologen. Mit aufschlussreichen Abstechern zu Nobelpreistragern und zur Philatelie."

Why I Believe in God by John Doe is non-fiction and a true to life story of the author's life, that is, parts of it. It is a message story, but a message story has to have an interesting tale to tell to keep the interest up and a vital message to relate. As this story takes you from high school to the famine infested streets of Calcutta, the "Black Market" dens of China and back again it covers some interesting subjects concerning spiritualism, Hinduism, a lot of "whys" to Christianity - with some pretty good answers learned along the way. The author also shares his findings with you - from a simple - "is there really a God" to such considerations as evolution, atheism, ID and The Da Vinci Code. It's not without a warm and enduring love story that started in beautiful downtown Calcutta and continues today.