The Globalization of Financial Services

Banking, foreign exchange, bonds, equities and insurance services are now provided through an increasingly global marketplace. In financial services, as in other activities, globalization can be seen as a process opening up national economies and markets, widening the extent and form of cross-border transactions, deepening the international character of productive activity. As such, globalization is propelled by liberalization of trade and deregulation of capital markets, underpinned by technological change which is lowering communication and transport costs and enhancing the international tradeability of services. This volume brings together a range of articles examining the nature of globalization in financial services and the implications of the internationalization process for financial and regulatory policies. Contributions range from early analyses by Milton Friedman of the Eurodollar market, Harry Johnson of regional financial centres and Herbert Grubel of multinational banking to more recent studies examining the stock market crash of 1987, the globalization of payment systems and the financial collapse of BCCI and Barings. The 38 articles are divided into six sections covering trade in financial services, multinational banking, Eurocurrency banking, offshore services, exchange and securities and regulatory issues.