The internationalization of financial services is an important issue for the strengthening and liberalizing of financial systems in developing countries. There has been considerable support for the view that internationalization can assist countries in building financial systems that are more stable and efficient by introducing international standards and practices.
At the same time, there have been concerns about the risks that internationalization may carry for some countries, particularly in the absence of adequate regulatory structures. The chapters in this book examine different aspects of this debate, the relative benefits and costs of internationalization, and together provide an insight into the diversity and significance of the effects of internationalization on domestic financial systems.
The collection of papers includes discussion on:
the EU experience of internationalization;
the political economy of internationalization;
the legal/regulatory dimensions of internationalization;
the financial services agreement of December 1997;
the motivations for and effects of foreign entry on domestic financial systems;
the relationships between internationalization and domestic financial reform and capital account liberalization; and
case studies focusing on the effects of opening up the financial services sector in various countries.
The papers collected in this volume arose from a World Bank funded research project, culminating in a conference, jointly sponsored by the World Bank and the WTO Secretariat, which took place in Geneva in May 1999.
Preface, Acknowledgments, Overview Stijn Claessens and Marion Jansen A
nalytical Aspects and Trade Agreements Internationalization of Financial
Services: A Trade-Policy Perspective Brian Hindley, Financial Services
and Regional Integration Martijn van Empel and Anna Marner, Financial
Services Liberalization and GATS Ying Qian The General Evidence
Financial Sector Openness and Economic Growth Felix Eschenbach, Joseph
F. Francois and Ludger Schuknecht, The Role of Foreign Banks in Domestic
Banking Systems Stijn Claessens, Ash Demirgiir-Kunt and Harry Huizinga,
How Does Financial Services Trade Affect Capital Flows and Financial
Stability? Masamichi Kono and Ludger Schuknecht The European
Experience Lessons from European Banking Liberalization and Integration X
avier Vives, The Impact of the Single Market Programme on EU Banking:
Select Policy Experiences for Developing Countries E.P.M. Gardener, P.
Molyneux, B. Moore and L.A. Winters, Consequences for Greece and Portugal
of the Opening-Up of the European Banking Market Patrick Honohan, The
Opening of the Spanish Banking System: 1985-98 Jose M. Pastor, Francisco
Perez and Javier Quesada Experiences of Developing Countries and
Transition Economies On the Kindness of Strangers? The Impact of Foreign
Entry on Domestic Banks in Argentina George Clarke, Robert Cull, Laura
D'Amato and Andrea Molinari, Foreign Investment in Colombia's Financial
Sector Adolfo Barajas, Roberto Steiner and Natalia Salazar, Foreign
Entry in Turkey's Banking Sector, 1980-1997 Cevdet Denizer, Experience
with Internationalization of Financial Sector Providers - Case Study: Hungary
Julia Kiraly, Bea Majer, Laszlo Matyas, Bela Ocsi, Andras Sugar and Eva
Varhegyi, Foreign Direct Investment in the Banking Sector: A Transitional
Economy Perspective Luca Papi and Debora Revoltella, Index