Banking Globalization

The financial crisis has renewed interest in the globalization of the banking industry, the patterns of entry into foreign markets, and the effects of complex banking organizations. There is a rich body of literature on international banks, which has recently been expanded by the improved theoretical modeling of the international banking firm and by focusing on implications for (systemic) risk. In this chapter, we focus on three main questions. First, what are the determinants of cross-border entry through acquisitions of commercial banks? Second, what are the effects of cross-border entry on complexity and the efficiency of banks? Third, what are the risk effects of international bank acquisitions, in particular with regard to systemic risk? We begin with a brief summary of the stylized facts, and we conclude with implications for researchers and policymakers.