Potential new entrants to the European Union from Central and Eastern European countries face many challenges to achieve financial convergence with the existing EU nations. Using detailed case studies from Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland and analysis of cross country...

International activities of commercial banks are a potential source for the transmission of shocks across countries. In Europe, bank finance plays a relatively important role, and efforts have been made at creating a level playing field for financial institutions. This paper reviews the stylized...

This book provides the foundations for an additional perspective on optimal currency area theory (OCA). The links between financial and monetary integration (via financial intermediation and banking) offer another path towards understanding monetary transmission and, therefore, OCA theory. This...

Governments around the globe protect the banking sector and enhance financial stability with a framework of rules, controls and procedures, referred to as the financial safety net. In the European Union (EU), the financial safety net lies within the competence of Member States and the efforts to...