In November 2006 Wal-Mart's Mexican subsidiary received approval to open a bank. The application faced little opposition in Mexico, unlike the company's failed effort to start a bank in the United States. This was partly because in Mexico, Wal-Mart's entry was generally regarded as increasing...

This paper investigates the impact of stock markets and banks on economic growth using a panel data set for the period 1976-98 and applying recent GMM techniques developed for dynamic panels. On balance, we find that stock markets and banks positively influence economic growth and these findings...

This study focuses on the role of financial development in the economic growth of Central, Eastern and South-Eastern European (CESEE) countries in the post-communist era (1995–2014), which coincides with the opening up of financial markets to foreign investors and the global financial crisis....

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the market concentration, foreign ownership and determinants of profitability for commercial banks operating in the MENA economies over the period 1999-2012. This paper uses panel analysis via GMM estimation to examine a large sample of banks for a...

The globe is still far away from a consistent implementation of a fully-fledged harmonized banking regulatory framework. The reason for this heterogeneity mainly results from (a) historically grown and hence different country-specific traditions in banking regulation and supervision, (b)...

We document that the deregulation of bank branching restrictions in the United States triggered a reallocation across sectors, with end effects on state-level volatility. The change cannot be explained simply by shifts in sector-level returns and volatility. A reallocation effect is at play,...

Since the late 1990s financial strategies for opening Eastern European markets and entry strategies of foreign banks in most CESEE countries included triggers for strong credit growth, especially in the private sector. What are the transition results on the macro level? Does this credit growth...

Do well-functioning stock markets and banks promote long-term economic growth? Yes, but stock markets and banks differ in the financial services they provide. Using data on 49 countries from 1976 to 1993, the authors investigate whether measures of stock market liquidity, size, volatility, and...

This paper used panel data analysis via GMM estimation to investigate a number of contemporary issues regarding whether MENA banks' stability and profitability are affected by market power and market concentration. Additionally, it investigates political issues that took place in late 2010 and...

Cross-border bank positions in Asia and the Pacific remain highly concentrated to few counterparties, exposing the region to financial risks and policy spillovers. Consequently, assessing the determinants and impacts of the region's cross-border banking concentration is relevant to the design of...