This paper examines the impact of bank ownership on credit growth in developing countries before and during the 2008-2009 crisis. Using bank-level data for countries in Eastern Europe and Latin America, it analyzes the growth of banks' total gross loans as well as the growth of corporate,...

We use bank-level data on 16 CESEE economies over 2005-2014 to assess the role of foreign banks in the region's credit dynamics. We confirm that macroeconomic fundamentals of both host and home countries matter, as do the bank and parent bank characteristics. Moreover, we take a new approach by...

The transition of banking in Central and Eastern Europe was nothing short of remarkable. All these countries now have market oriented banking systems that are largely free of government influence. This success is often attributed to the influence of foreign banks that brought modern technology...

We investigate the determinants of bank interest margins in the Central and Eastern European countries (CEEC). We assess to what extent the relatively high bank margins in CEEC can be attributed to low efficiency or non-competitive market conditions, controlling for the macroeconomic environment...

Modern banking institutions were virtually non-existent in the planned economies of central Europe and the former Soviet Union. In the early transition period, banking sectors began to develop during several years of macroeconomic decline and turbulence accompanied by repeated bank crises....