The recent financial turmoil has prompted to review the current financial regulatory framework mechanism. The present financial system reform could be a cause of the integration and consolidation processes in banking, because banks play a very important role in the economy. This article examines the changes of European Union’s financial system, regulatory rules, and extending the potential of the financial sector perspective. This paper attempts to evaluate the European Union financial structural changes, and to identify the determinants of these changes, examine the role of financial institutions in the financial system, the influence of economic development, especially to consider the consolidation processes going on in the banking sector.

Keywords: Banking, consolidation, financial system regulation.