Using a combination of propensity score matching and difference-in-difference techniques we investigate the impact of foreign bank ownership on the performance and market power of acquired banks operating in Central and Eastern Europe. This approach allows us to control for selection bias as larger but less profitable banks were more likely to be acquired by foreign investors. We show that during three years after the takeover, banks have become more profitable due to cost minimization and better risk management. They have additionally gained market share, because they passed their lower cost of funds to borrowers in terms of lower lending rates. Previous studies failed to pick up the improvements in performance of takeover banks, because they did not account for the performance of financial institutions before acquisitions.
We use data on 1,294 banks in Central and Eastern Europe to analyze how bank ownership and creditor coordination in the form of the Vienna Initiative affected credit growth during the 2008–09 crisis. As part of the Vienna Initiative western European banks signed country-specific commitment letters in which they pledged to maintain exposures and to support their subsidiaries in Central and Eastern Europe. We show that both domestic and foreign banks sharply curtailed credit during the crisis, but that foreign banks that participated in the Vienna Initiative were relatively stable lenders. We find no evidence of negative spillovers from countries where banks signed commitment letters to countries where they did not.
This timely reader of seminal papers published by Palgrave on behalf of Comparative Economic Studies, examines how and why foreign banks enter emerging markets and the positive benefits they bring to the host countries.
Latvia stands out as the East European country hardest hit by the global financial crisis; it lost approximately 25 percent of its GDP between 2008 and 2010. It was also the most overheated economy before the crisis. But in the second half of 2010, Latvia returned to economic growth. How did this happen so quickly? Current Latvian Prime Minister Valdis Dombrovskis, who shepherded Latvia through the crisis, and renowned author Anders slund discuss why the Latvian economy became so overheated; why an IMF and European Union stabilization program was needed; what the Latvian government did to resolve the financial crisis and why it made these choices; and what the outcome has been. This book offers a rare insider's look at how a national government responded to a global financial crisis, made tough choices, and led the country back to economic growth.
This book provides an in-depth analysis of the role of foreign-owned banks for credit growth, financial stability and economic growth in the post-communist European countries. Using data covering 20 countries over the period from 1995 to 2015, the authors analyse the evolution of banking sectors in CESEE after the transformation in the historical context. This helps draw a new picture of the role of financial development and EU accession in that region, being also a lesson for other countries or regions in transition. Additionally, as the Global Financial Crisis has left a stigma in banking sectors, the book shows its impact on the post-communist banking sectors. As the foreign banks dominate the banking sectors in CESEE countries (the stake of foreign-owned banks is below 50% of assets in only five out of 20 countries), their strategies materially impact the development of CESEE banking sectors, which warrants our scientific exploration. Arriving at a clear concluding point of view on the role of foreign-owned banks and providing insights for future policy of CESEEs towards foreign presence in their banking sectors, this book should be of interest to academics, students, and policymakers.
Countries in Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe (CESEE) experienced a credit boom-bust cycle in the last decade. This paper analyzes the roles of demand and supply factors in explaining this credit cycle. Our analysis first focuses on a large sample of bank-level data on credit growth for the entire CESEE region. We complement this analysis by five case studies (Latvia, Lithuania, Montenegro, Poland, and Romania). Our results of the panel data analysis indicate that supply factors, on average and relative to demand factors, gained in importance in explaining credit growth in the post-crisis period. In the case studies, we find a similar result for Lithuania and Montenegro, but the other three case studies point to the fact that country experiences were heterogeneous.
Banking Regulation in China provides an in-depth analysis of the country's contemporary banking regulatory system, focusing on regulation in practice. By drawing on public and private interest theories relating to bank regulation, He argues that controlled development of the banking sector transformed China's banks into more market-oriented institutions and increased public sector growth. This work proves that bank regulation is the primary means through which the Chinese government achieves its political and economic objectives rather than using it as a vehicle for maintaining efficient financial markets.
This year, the Vienna Initiative marks its 10th anniversary. For this special occasion, the Steering Committee has prepared a commemorative book, with essays and contributions from the key actors and institutions instrumental to the work of the Vienna Initiative since its inception. This volume provides a unique window on the Vienna Initiative's innovative crisis mitigation activities, its subsequent evolution and its current scope. At the time of the Lehman crisis, international institutions, national authorities and international commercial banks collaborated closely, taking full responsibility for their strategies in the CESEE region and voluntarily providing firm commitments on their activities. In the form of the Vienna Inititive, they built a functioning coordination platform, capable of transforming and evolving according to changing needs. Ten years later, this coordination platform remains an important of effective inter-institutional and private-private sector cooperation. The establishment of the Vienna Initiative was far from easy. However, given the size of euro area banks' cross-border operations in CESEE, a disorderly deleveraging would have been very costly for both CESEE countries and the foreign banks. With this in mind, the main stakeholders eventually got together to participate in the Vienna Initiative and achieve its main objective. The foreign banking groups committed to maintain their presence in the region, while the EIB, EBRD and the World Bank Group provided substantial financing to banks and the real economy. These efforts had a major positive impact on the region. They helped curb liquidity disruptions and restore confidence in the banking system, while alleviating balance of payments pressures. This coordinated response from commercial banks and IFIs was a prerequisite for the success of the IMF-funded macroeconomic adjustment programs in several CESEE countries. Over time, the Vienna Initiative has transformed itself from a crisis mitigation instrument to a broader coordination platform, dealing with the unique challenges of widespread cross-border banking with regulatory and supervisory interdependence, while supporting the emergence of an efficient, deep and sound banking and financial sector that supports growth in the region. In particular, with CESEE countries on a solid recovery path, the focus has shifted to tackling the legacy problem of high NPLs, or to dealing with the impact of the EU's upgraded institutional framework – particularly the creation of the Banking Union – on the host countries, most of which do not participate in the Banking Union. With the region needing to transform, up-scale its innovation capabilities and adjust to technological change, a dedicated working group has been set up to propose measures that could improve access to finance for innovative firms which typically lack tangible assets and thus may have hard time obtaining standard bank loans in a system that still offers limited alternatives. The Vienna Initiative has been a major achievement of international coordination and an important instrument for the future of the CESEE region.
This paper presents recent trends in bank ownership across countries and summarizes the evidence regarding the implications of bank ownership structure for bank performance and competition, financial stability, and access to finance. The evidence reviewed suggests that foreign-owned banks are more efficient than domestic banks in developing countries, promote competition in host banking sectors, and help stabilize credit when host countries face idiosyncratic shocks. But there are tradeoffs, since foreign-owned banks can transmit external shocks and might not always expand access to credit. The record on the impact of government bank ownership suggests few benefits, especially for developing countries.
