The first signs of future change are already appar- ent for both the regional savings banks and their local savings companies. Thus concrete indications already suggest that the number of regional sav- ings banks will decline further in the near future as a result of mergers. This is because the business area of some savings banks is likely to be too lim- ited for them to achieve satisfactory operating results in the long term in a tougher and increas- ingly international competitive climate. It is conse- quently realistic to assume that the present num- ber of savings banks, namely 34, will be pruned to between only 20 and 25 large ones after.
