In this paper we investigate the influence of banking and financial diversity on stability. We compute an index of banking diversity for Italian provinces and, drawing from network theory, we propose a measure of the diversity and development of the overall provincial financial sector. Our results show that diversity in the banking and financial markets promotes greater stability. Such beneficial effects are particularly evident during periods of financial distress. We ascribe our findings to the better diversification achieved by more diverse financial systems, as documented by lower loans concentration and higher loans diversification in terms of economic destination and borrower category.
 

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