RESEARCH PAPER
Cross-Border Banking in Central and Eastern Europe
More details
Hide details
Publication date: 2012-02-29
GNPJE 2012;253(1-2):41-64
KEYWORDS
JEL CLASSIFICATION CODES
ABSTRACT
The paper looks at cross-border banking as a mode of providing banking services. It offers an overview of World Trade Organization and European Union regulations on the internationalization of banks. Both legal systems recognize cross-border banking as equivalent to other modes of financial services supply, the author says.
The empirical analysis focuses on the banking sectors of 10 Central and Eastern European countries from 1998 to 2010. The role of cross-border banking services as a percentage of the total volume of loans/deposits makes it possible to conclude that the interbank markets are integrated across borders, Kruszka says. The retail banking sectors are dominated by banks that have established a local presence.
The paper also examines the determinants of cross-border bank flows for the nonfinancial sector. The author uses panel data techniques. The empirical results suggest that GDP growth, the exchange rate, and financial turbulence are the most important factors behind changes in cross-border lending. The growth of cross-border deposits depends on the difference between the interest rates and the depreciation of the borrower country’s currency.