Foreign banks are playing an increasingly large role in many developing countries, holding more than 50 percent of banking assets in several of these countries. But important issues about foreign bank entry continue to be debated.

Foreign banks are playing an increasingly large role in many developing countries, holding more than 50 percent of banking assets in several of these countries. But important issues about foreign bank entry continue to be debated.In recent years foreign bank participation has increased tremendously in several developing countries. In Argentina, Chile, the Czech Republic, Hungary, and Poland, for example, more than 50 percent of banking assets are now in foreign-controlled banks. In Asia, Africa, the Middle East, and the former Soviet Union the rate of entry by foreign banks has been slower, but the trend is similar.Although the number of countries welcoming foreign banks is growing, many questions about foreign bank entry are still being debated, including:ʼn What draws foreign banks to a country?ʼn Which banks expand abroad?ʼn What do foreign banks do once they arrive?ʼn How does the mode of a bank's entry - for example, as a branch of its parent or as an independent subsidiary company - affect its behavior?Clarke and his coauthors summarize current knowledge on these issues. In addition, since the existing literature focuses heavily on industrial countries, they put forth an agenda for further study of the effects of foreign bank entry in developing countries.This paper - a product of the Office of the Senior Vice President, Development Economics - is a background paper for World Development Report 2002: Institutions for Markets. The authors may be contacted at [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], or [email protected].

In recent years foreign banks have expanded their presence significantly in several developing economies. In Argentina and Chile in Latin America and in the Czech Republic, Hungary, and Poland in Eastern Europe, foreign-controlled banks now hold more than half of total banking assets. In other regions the trend is similar, though foreign bank entry has been slower. Despite the growing number of countries embracing foreign bank entry, important questions are still being debated: What draws foreign banks to a country? Which banks expand abroad? What do foreign banks do once they arrive? How do foreign banks' mode of entry and organizational form affect their behavior? This article summarizes current knowledge on these issues. Because the existing literature focuses heavily on developed economies, it also puts forth an agenda for further study of the causes and effects of foreign bank entry in developing economies.

We employ a unique data set containing bank-specific information to explore how foreign bank entry determines credit allocation in emerging markets. We investigate the impact of the mode of foreign entry (greenfield or takeover) on banks' portfolio allocation to borrowers with different degrees of informational transparency, as well as by maturities and currencies. The impact of foreign entry on credit allocation may stem from the superior performance of foreign entrants ("performance hypothesis"), or reflect borrower informational capture ("portfolio composition hypothesis"). Our results are broadly in line with the portfolio composition hypothesis, showing that borrower informational capture determines bank credit allocation.m

A Brookings Institution Press, the World Bank, and the International Monetary Fund publication The extensive reforms and liberalization of financial services in emerging markets worldwide call for cutting-edge strategies to capture the benefits of new investment opportunities. In Open Doors, a volume of papers from the third annual Financial Markets and Development conference, multidisciplinary financial sector experts analyze current economic and political trends and prescribe practical advice to the financial development community. The book addresses the key issues of concern regarding the emerging markets, including the trends, motivations, and scope of FDI in finance; policy options that will best capture the opportunities of foreign entry; and the role of foreign institutions in e-finance innovation. The authors focus on specific topics such as foreign participation in emerging market banking systems and securities industries, WTO policies and enforcement, the role of foreign banks, liberalization of insurance markets, the need for capital markets, and the policy, regulatory, and legal issues associated with e-finance. For policymakers and financial practitioners affected by the WTO's Financial Services Agreement, this timely book should be of particular interest. Contributors include Donald Mathieson (International Money Fund), Pierre Sauvé (Trade Directorate, OECD), George J. Vojta (formerly with Bankers Trust and Citibank), Harold D. Skipper (J. Mack Robinson College of Business, Georgia State University), Benn Steil (Council on Foreign Relations), Morris Goldstein and Edward M. Graham (Institute for International Economics), Nicolas Lardy (Brookings Institution), Phillip Turner (Bank of International Settlements), and Robert Ledig (Fried, Frank, Shriver & Jacobson).

June 1998 Does the entry of foreign banks make domestic banks more competitive? This study shows that, in developing countries, increasing the number (even more than the share) of foreign banks reduces both profits and overhead expenses of domestic banks. Banking markets are becoming increasingly international through financial liberalization and general economic integration. Using bank-level data for 80 countries for 1988-95, Claessens, Demirgüç-Kunt, and Huizinga examine the extent of foreign ownership in national banking markets. They compare net interest margins, overhead, taxes paid, and profitability of foreign and domestic banks. The comparative functions of foreign banks and domestic banks is very different in developing and industrial countries, possibly because of a different customer base, different bank procedures, and different regulatory and tax regimes: * In developing countries foreign banks tend to have greater profits, higher interest margins, and higher tax payments than do domestic banks. * In industrial countries it is the domestic banks that have greater profits, higher interest margins, and higher tax payments. It is common to read, in the literature on foreign banking, that the entry of foreign banks can make national banking markets more competitive, thereby forcing domestic banks to operate more efficiently. Claessens, Demirgüç-Kunt, and Huizinga show that increasing the foreign share of bank ownership does indeed reduce profitability and overhead expenses in domestically owned banks-so the general effect of foreign bank entry may be positive. Interestingly, the number of foreign entrants matters more than their market share, suggesting that they affect local bank competition more on entry rather than after gaining a substantial market share. These effects hold even when controlling for the fact that foreign banks may be attracted to markets with certain characteristics, such as low banking costs. This paper-a joint product of the East Asia and Pacific Region and the Development Research Group-is part of a larger effort in the Bank to study the effects of increasing global integration of financial services. The authors may be contacted at cclaessens @worldbank.org, [email protected], or H.P. Huizinga@Kub. NL.

This paper introduces a comprehensive database on bank ownership for 137 countries over 1995-2009, and reviews foreign bank behavior and impact. It documents substantial increases in foreign bank presence, with many more home and host countries. Current market shares of foreign banks average 20 percent in OECD countries and 50 percent elsewhere. Foreign banks have higher capital and more liquidity, but lower profitability than domestic banks do. Only in developing countries is foreign bank presence negatively related with domestic credit creation. During the global crisis foreign banks reduced credit more compared to domestic banks, except when they dominated the host banking systems.