International financial integration has increased tremendously over the past decades. Greater financial integration has been closely associated with the internationalisation of banking: banks’ gross cross-border positions have expanded significantly, foreign subsidiaries and branches are more common, and bank ownership has become more internationally diversified. These trends have positive and negative consequences for financial systems, for the economies that host them, and for the relevant authorities (central banks and regulators). Yet, there is surprisingly little consistent evidence on the costs and benefits of international banking. Research in this field has been hampered by a lack of appropriate data, but better theoretical models are also needed to inspire empirical work on international banking.
Against this backdrop, the Bundesbank is organising a workshop that aims to bring together researchers who are interested in discussing these issues from a theoretical and empirical perspective. Studies concentrating on industrialised countries and using micro-data are particularly welcome.