"Despite recently announced delays, Basel II--the new standard for bank capital--is due to be completed this year for implementation in the 13 Basel Committee member countries by the end of 2006. Should the other 170 plus member countries of the World Bank also adopt Basel II? Basel II was not...

"This paper studies the factors banks perceive as drivers and obstacles to financing small and medium enterprises (SMEs), focusing on the role of competition and the institutional framework. Using a survey of banks in Argentina and Chile, the paper shows that, despite alleged differences in the...

"The authors formulate and test hypotheses about the role of bank ownership types-foreign, state-owned, and private domestic banks-in banking relationships, using data from India. The empirical results are consistent with all of their hypotheses with regard to foreign banks. These banks tend to...

"The authors analyze the determinants and implications for financial stability of the mix of international banks' claims countries receive. In particular, they distinguish between local claims, extended by international banks through their affiliates in a host (or claim recipient) country, and...

"Using balance sheet information for nearly 6,000 firms between 1994-2003, Love and Martinez Peria investigate recent firm financing patterns in India. They document the overall use of debt and, in particular, the role of bank financing (short-term and long-term), trade credit, intra-business...

"Levy-Yeyati, Martinez Peria, and Schmukler show that systemic risk exerts a significant impact on the behavior of depositors, sometimes overshadowing their responses to standard bank fundamentals. Systemic risk can affect market discipline both regardless of and through bank fundamentals....