Since 1995 two Spanish banks -- Banco Santander Central Hispano and Banco Bilbao Vizcaya -- have become the largest foreign banks in retail banking in Latin America. This recent development merits careful analysis because foreign direct investment is rare in retail banking. We find that the...

After a long history of closure to foreign banks, Norway opened in 1985. The foreign banks that then entered had divergent firm-specific resources and followed divergent strategies. Key factors in entry were the foreign banks' prior experience in Norway itself, the foreign banks' advantages...

I examine the role of foreign banks in Japan to begin to address the issue of whether the Japanese authorities are pursuing mercantilist policies in trade in financial services. The paper begins with an historical overview of foreign bank entry since the opening of Japan in 1859. Next, I examine...