FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS: VARIATIONS IN RELATIVE STRUCTURE AND PERFORMANCE

This paper compares various dimensions of the structure and performance of financial institutions—including life, and property and liability insurance companies—over the 1956-74 period. Such an overview is considered important, particularly because of increasing regulatory concern over the relative competitive powers of financial industries. One cannot begin to appreciate the differences in competitive powers in the absence of a comparative framework. In the framework provided, the relative position of the insurance industries is seen as a declining one. This and other findings raise additional questions deserving the ongoing attention of regulators and institutional executives in understanding the financial system's competitive environment.