This useful new book contributes to the understanding of competition policy in the Mexican banking system and explains how levels of competition relate to banks' efficiency. It contrasts concepts of economic theory with empirical evidence to distill optimal policy decisions. The authors study the banking sector in Mexico, a developing country with a regulated and sound banking system and an industry with strong participation from global systemic banks. However, the Mexican banking system continues to have low financial deepening in the economy. Simultaneously, changes experienced by the Mexican financial system in recent decades have completely transformed its architecture, structure of ownership and control, and its competitive conditions, and have undeniably affected system performance and efficiency. This provides a natural laboratory in which to answer the questions of scholars, economists, and policymakers.

Sara G. Castellanos is Senior Economist at the Central Bank of Mexico (Banco de México). She worked as an economic researcher at the Economic Research Directorate and the Payment System Directorate of Banco de México from 1998 to 2009, as Principal Economist at BBVA Bancomer from 2009 to 2013, and as Chief Economist of the Mexican Antitrust Authority (Comisión Federal de Competencia Económica) from November 2013 to February 2015. She obtained her BA in Economics at Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México (1993) and her MA (1995) and PhD in Economics (1998) at the University of California, Los Angeles, USA.

Gustavo A. Del Angel is Professor at Centro de Investigación y Docencia Económica (CIDE), Mexico. He was Professeur Visitant at the Universite de Paris III in 2006 and Researcher at the UC-San Diego in 2000. In 2009-2011 he worked in Banco de México. In the last ten years, he has participated in consulting projects for public sector entities, international organizations, private sector companies, and NGOs. He has been a non-executive director in several microfinance organizations. Prior to obtaining his PhD, he worked in the commercial banking industry. He holds a BA in Economics from Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México (1992) and a PhD in History from Stanford University, USA (2002).

Jesús Gustavo Garza-García is Chief Mexico Economist at Itaú BBA, Mexico. Before joining Itaú, he worked at the Mexican Ministry of Finance as the Deputy General Director of International Financial Organizations and as the Director of Financial Planning and Head of Investor Relations. Previously, he was a financial researcher at the Directorate of Financial Stability of Banco de México. Jesus holds a BA in Economics from Instituto Tecnológico de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey, Mexico (2002), and an MSc in Financial Economics (2005) and PhD in Finance (2009) from the University of Essex, UK.

1. Introduction
2. Literature Review of Banking Studies
3. Structural Evolution and Cycles of Consolidation
4. Competition in the Mexican Banking System: Review
5. Analysis of Competition and Efficiency in the Mexican Banking Sector
6. Competition Policy in the Mexican financial system
7. Conclusions