quot;Old Europequot; - the developed nations of continental Europe - averages only about 15% foreign bank ownership, whereas quot;New Europequot; - the transition nations of Eastern Europe - averages about 70%. Similar findings hold elsewhere in the world - developed nations tend to have much...

Large and foreign-owned institutions may have difficulty extending relationship loans to informationally opaque small firms. Bank distress does not appear to affect small business lending, although even small firms may react to bank distress by borrowing from multiple banks