Although commercial banks enjoyed record profits during the past two years, many observers contend that the banking industry is facing long-term decline. Many traditional banking functions are increasingly performed by specialty financial service firms and markets.
Monetary policymakers rely on a number of indicators to gauge the thrust of recent policy actions, that is, whether or not those actions have been consistent with eventual accelerations or decelerations of inflation.
Between September 1992 and August 1993, the European Monetary System (EMS) endured its most serious crisis since it began in 1979. Cross-pegging their exchange rates in the framework of the Exchange Rate Mechanism (ERM), member countries were confronted with a string of speculative currency attacks.
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