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...

In the last few years it has been possible to observe decreasing interest margins for German universal banks. At the same time, institutions increasingly moved part of their business from interest to fee-earning activities. This study analyzes the determinants of non-interest income and its...

Modern trade theory emphasizes firm-level productivity differentials to explain the cross-border activities of non-financial firms. This study tests whether a productivity pecking order also determines international banking activities. Using a novel dataset that contains all German banks'...

Der Mittelstand beklagt eine zunehmende Zurückhaltung der Banken bei der Kreditfinan zierung. Welche Ursachen hat die Stagnation der Der Mittelstand beklagt eine zunehmende Zurückhaltung der Banken bei der Kreditfinan zierung. Welche Ursachen hat die Stagnation der Kreditbestände? Verhalten...

Recent developments on international financial markets have called the benefits of bank globalization into question. Large, internationally active banks have acquired substantial market power, and international activities have not necessarily made banks less risky. Yet, surprisingly little is...

This Forum aims to systematically describe and analyse the evolution of national financial systems within the EU over the past three decades. It analyses the processes of financialisation that have dominated this period as well as the causes and consequences of the financial crisis from the...

Im Jahr 2006 hat sich die Stimmung in der deutschen Kreditwirtschaft deutlich verbessert. Die Geschäftsentwicklung übertrifft zum Teil sogar die Erwartungen (vgl. Sachverständigenrat zur Begutachtung der gesamtwirtschaftlichen Entwicklung 2006: 234). Mittlerweile ernten viele Kreditinstitute...

1989 bereits wurde in einem Gutachten auf die "unterdurchschnittliche Ertragskraft" der Landesbanken verwiesen und der Zusammenschluss zu einem einzigen Spitzeninstitut gefordert. 20 Jahre später allerdings, inmitten der bislang schwersten Krise der Landesbanken, bewahrte das hiesige...

The closing of tax loopholes is one important instrument for fiscal consolidation. We concentrate on the value added tax exemption of banking services in Germany. The potential tax revenue under full value added taxation cannot be estimated from national accounting data, as it is necessary to...