Consolidation and concentration trends in banking was the theme of the Academic Archive Colloquium of the European Association for Banking History held in Madrid, June 1997. This volume comprises 18 papers and responses presented at the colloquium. Some of the themes explored include: the significance of mergers for bank archives; the regulation of mergers and their impact on banking legislation; reactions to consolidation from within and without the banking industry; case studies of particular mergers and their impact on the wider banking community.