Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/19472 
Year of Publication: 
2004
Series/Report no.: 
Discussion Paper Series 1 No. 2004,05
Publisher: 
Deutsche Bundesbank, Frankfurt a. M.
Abstract: 
The choice between foreign direct investment (FDI) and exports has been a recurrent theme in the literature on international trade, yet few studies have analysed this choice at the level of the individual firm. This paper uses a new dataset to study the FDI-versus-exports decision for banks. We use data on the foreign direct investment stocks and the cross-border provision of financial services of German banks for the period 1997-2000 to describe the regional pattern of banks' international activities. We find that country- and bank-specific variables capturing size have a major impact on banks' foreign activities. The results are consistent with the hypothesis that the realisation of economies of scale and the provision of trade-related finance shape globalisation patterns. Greater cultural and geographical distance, by contrast, potentially limit the international expansion of banks. Our results also suggest that FDI and cross-border services are complements rather than substitutes.
Subjects: 
international banking
gravity equations
foreign direct investment
cross-border financial services
JEL: 
F21
F0
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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