The Role of Foreign Banks in Emerging Countries
The Role of Foreign Banks in Emerging Countries
The Role of Foreign Banks in Emerging Countries
A Research Paper
11/30/2010
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The Role of Foreign Banks in Emerging Countries
Executive Summary
In the globalized and liberalized world, the financial industry has grown in leaps and bounds and it has
entered various geographies to diversify its asset class and increase its size.
The world is divided into three parts: Developed Economies, Emerging Economies and Third World
Countries. Off late the importance of Emerging Economies has increased as it provides high return
avenues and has fundamentally stronger growth potential when compared to the developed economies.
Banking industry has been playing an important role in growth of all these economies and mobilizing
funds. The leading banks have played a pivotal role in this respect. These foreign banks have increased
their pace of growth in the emerging markets from late 1990s onwards.
Foreign banks bring new products, better technology, lower cost of funds and financial stability to these
economies. However they also allow the coupling of these markets with global economy, increasing the
risk of susceptibility to macro economic shocks as seen from the recent crisis.
The regulation is continuously evolving and gradually the foreign banks will find it easier to enter and
spread all over the world. They will not only provide funding to multinational clients, but will be an
integral part of the monetary policies of the respective central banks and governments.
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Table of Contents
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The Role of Foreign Banks in Emerging Countries
Introduction
Banks act as a financial intermediary involved in borrowing and lending activities. It accepts
deposits and savings from various entities such as general public, corporate entities etc. and uses
the same in on-lending purpose through direct banking channels or capital markets.
The history of banks can be pegged back to ancient history. Initially the world traded on “Barter
System” which had inherent flaws necessitating the development of banking system. Temples
were the first banks which grew as an industry gradually and today it rules the world financial
system (Giuseppe Felloni, 2004). The banking system has evolved from a small answer to flaws
endured by Barter System to a fully grown industry providing various services to the country and
its people. Gradually the world has evolved to 195 countries (United Nations) with own banking
system. In most of the countries a Central Bank regulates the entire banking system.
In the current scenario of a globalized and liberalized world, the role of a central bank is of
utmost importance. It regulates the money supply, issues currency for the government and
A commercial banking system allows money to transfer from one string to other. Depositor
keeps money with a bank, which utilizes the same for lending activities and in the process
earning its income through the differential of the two. The bank earns money through charging
The banking system has kept on developing from time to time and with the help of liberalization
of the financial sector, restriction has been reduced by various regulatory authorities and they
have allowed foreign banks and financial institutions to enter and run business in their countries.
In this paper we are going to discuss various strategies adopted by foreign banks and their role in
emerging markets.
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Emerging Markets
Countries restructuring their economic methodology as per the market requirement and offering
a wealth of opportunities for Trading, Transfer of Technology and Foreign Direct Investment are
known as Emerging Markets (Li). The biggest five emerging economies are China, India, Brazil,
Russia and Indonesia. Other countries that will rank below these countries are South Africa,
South Korea, Mexico, Poland, Argentina and Turkey (World Bank). These countries are largely
populated, have high resources and provide large markets and they are willing to go for fully
In 1990s, many of these countries saw a sort of banking crisis where there were major economic
disorders, such as, rising interest rates, depreciation of currency and credit flows declining. Since
then, many countries have improved their economic condition and the banking system. The
capital market consisting of bond market and equity market has been better utilized.
Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI) has classified the following 21 countries as
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However “The Economist” also includes Hong Kong, Singapore and Saudi Arabia in the above
list.
Banking System
Commercial Banks are the main source of saving and funding in all emerging markets. These
commercial banks are regulated by central banks of the respective countries. These commercial
banks are either owned by government or private (Domestic and Foreign). There has been huge
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However only commercial banking system cannot meet the fund requirement of these economies
and they have looked for alternative sources for fund sourcing purpose.
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Foreign Banks’ investments in Emerging markets have increased substantially in the second half
of 1990s. In Eastern Europe, banking assets under foreign control jumped from 25% in 1995 to
30% by 2000. Similarly in Latin America, around 40% of the banking assets were under control
of Foreign Banks by 2000. It also saw a slew of cross border mergers and acquisition during the
2000 period. However, the similar scenes were not repeated in Asian markets. The share of
banking assets under foreign control was around 5% in 1995 which increased to 6% by 2000.
There were countries like Indonesia, Korea and Thailand who allowed foreign control in the
banking system to the extent of 100 %. Philippines also allowed 60 % ownership by foreign
In the last two decades, the banking system as well as the financial requirement of Emerging
Countries has gone up significantly. The best way for fund sourcing is opening the economy for
Foreign Direct Investment (FDI). As these economies are growing at a very rapid pace and
foreign entities are interested in putting their money in, the emerging markets have opened their
banking system too and have allowed foreign banks to open their branches in the local market.
This has led to higher competition, sufficient credit flow and better services to the public.
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Globalization has given birth to Financial Liberalization. Due to this, Foreign Banks have
continuously played a significant role in the credit system of the emerging countries. These
banks lend to the emerging economies either directly from their head offices or their local
branches (Associate / Affiliate). “Follow the Customer” hypothesis (Grubel, 1977), requires
bank to go and explore new markets for achieving the required growth and expansion. As the
developed economies are getting stagnated in terms of growth and opportunity, foreign banks are
This foreign flow has merits and demerits of its own. As an emerging economy, the country
always stays in needs of funds which are mitigated by the foreign banks. They bring innovative
products, technology and better service facility. However they link the local economy to the
global economy as can be seen from the recent economic crisis. As the developed economies ran
short of funds or liquidity, foreign banks and investor started pulling back their money giving
The foreign banks enter the new country either through branch / subsidiary model or through
joint venture model. Operation through branch is the most effective method as the bank can learn
and understand the local market directly and also can leverage its key skills to compete in the
market. The foreign banks come with low cost of funds as they have footprints in many other
countries, and they can borrow money from low interest rate markets to high interest markets. It
gives them an arbitrage opportunity. As they provide various financial instruments in different
The operation of foreign bank in a local market exposes the bank to various risks such as country
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Advantages:
• Foreign Banks are more efficient because of their global presence and experience
• Foreign banks bring more competition which is always good for a growing economy
Disadvantages:
• Domestic player may not be able to compete and in the process might become
obsolete
• Foreign banks mostly open their branches or subsidiaries in the financial hubs of the
host countries, hence they do not serve majorly in the financial inclusion process of
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Foreign banks have been lending to the domestic market through its domestic affiliates since
1990s. The investment amount has been growing continuously as well as the involved number of
players.
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Liabilities:
Emerging markets, its size and the risk are changing since 1990s at a very rapid pace, which
have heighted the competition in the domestic market and they have to invent new strategies to
compete with foreign banks. The foreign banks have gained good amount of experience in these
territories and they are playing a bigger role in the macro economic development of the host
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countries. They are no more looked as an institution available to facilitate cross border
transactions.
Earlier, foreign banks were happy to co-operate only the international players in their growth and
expansion strategies, but as the market size has grown and local players are getting bigger and
bigger, foreign banks are also participating in these companies growth story. (R.A. Brearley,
1996)
Foreign banks also have become aggressive in their approach to these emerging economies.
These countries have a very high GDP rate and they provide high return opportunity to the
foreign investors. There are instances where foreign banks have acquired the local banks to
increase their share of the market and support their organic growth strategy with inorganic
growth.
Given the competitive advantage of foreign banks, as it operates in various countries and have a bigger
portfolio, the local banks generally do not have sufficient weapons to compete with them. Also, the entry
of foreign banks have some inherent problems such as coupling the local economy with global economy
and putting pressure on local currency. Hence there is a requirement of stricter regulation to control these
possible abruptions.
From an investment point of view, we can classify foreign investments into three categories:
3. Other players such as Private Equity, Venture Capital and Other Funds (Sovereign, Pension, etc.)
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The increased presence of these entities in local banking system has demanded effective and
efficient supervisory and regulatory bodies. (Song, 2004) The regulatory authority has mainly
emphasized on collecting all the information of cross border transactions. As the economies are
developing, and they are learning from experiences, there are instances of mismanagement. But
they are modifying the regulatory framework and keeping a check on all possible negative
events. One of the examples of such mishap is the failure of “Bank of Credit & Commerce
Taxation is one of the major issues which comes with globalization. Most of the countries have
Basel Committee, International Monetary Fund and World Bank are continuously supporting and
keeping a check over the banking systems by providing advisory services, funding and
information.
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Emerging markets have consolidated their regulatory system for effective and efficient banking
system in the country. There are also organizations like AML and CFT which fights against
terrorism financing.
Going forward, we will see major developments as the size of the economy grows and they open
Banking Environment
As per a recent World Bank report, Emerging Economies will outgrow the developed countries
by 2015. Majority of the population in the emerging markets remain in the rural area and they
have a sizeable bottom of the pyramid (Untapped Market) along with a younger working
population. As the economy is growing, so is the financial independence and surplus income for
these untapped markets. They are gradually playing a bigger role in the financial system and
requiring banking services. Hence, the Foreign Banks have a major role to play and bigger mass
Let us delve into some changes in the banking and financial industry in emerging economies:
The primary methodology for consolidation used by companies is through merger and
acquisitions. There have been significant cases of local banks merging with another local or
foreign entity:
Following are few examples of banking M&A – Both acquirer and target were listed in Asian or
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As these mergers and acquisition often require some changes in the existing regulatory
frameworks, government has many a times made the required changes and supported the deals.
The consolidation is also happening within the financial industry where various verticals of the
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banking system are merging with each other to become large full-fledged banking organization
• Globalization
1996, Japanese government brought various financial reforms in the country. This was the time
when Asian markets entered the globalization movement. As more and more players started
exploring new geographies, local players also started innovating and restructuring the traditional
system. In the current scenario, we are living in a technologically advanced world, where
information is available freely and profoundly. The local players have studied the business model
of foreign banks and hence they are able to replicate the methodologies and being up to date with
the market.
Foreign banks need to continuously innovate and leverage their global presence to be successful
When we talk about financial crisis, the first instance which comes to our mind is the 1929 crisis.
However, the current financial crisis can also be compared with the prior as it has already left a
serious mark in the world financial history. In such crises, it becomes difficult for the local as
well as global financial authorities to manage the banking and financial system world-wide and
locally. Many of the governments have shifted to deregulation of the financial industry and have
given huge amount of funds in private hands. It brings positives and equal if not more negatives
along with it, as the funds can be used for speculation, manipulating the markets and increasing
volatility.
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1990 onwards, we have seen various crises in different parts of the world such as Argentina
Crisis, Russian Crisis, Brazilian Crisis, Asian Crisis and current crisis starting from America and
leading to all the parts of the world. The asset quality has depleted, government has intervened
and rescued various enterprises. All these incidents, tells us the importance of proper financial
There also has been instances of various scams and occurence of bubbles, such as the internet
boom and bubble in the beginning of 21st century. In the globalized world, it also has been
difficult to predict any such crisis situation and figuring out proper mechanism to come out of the
same.
Foreign banks play a significant role in the growth of the host country. Following are few trends
• They are one of the major component for the economic growth of the country
• They also contribute in large for the reform of the financial sector in poor countries
• Globalization has been the cause for financial integration, foreign banks are the
facilitators
• They are linking their business to common language and improving proximity to the
borrowers
Following is the data for Total Number of banks and their asset size in various geographies:
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The Role of Foreign Banks in Emerging Countries
Following is the data for mode of entry of foreign banks in the host country (Greenfields or M&A)
Foreign banks have grown in size and role in the emerging countries. However there are still
restrictions on the services offering, merger and acquisition and various other points which
hinders the growth of foreign banks. China had promised WTO, that it will allow foreign banks
to provide products and services without any restrictions, however it has never acted on the
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same, and it still is a closely monitored economy without letting the outer world know its
policies and banking information. (Bostjan Jazbec, 2007) . Similarly, India has not allowed
foreign banks to freely participate in its banking sector and there are restrictions on the number
Government has liberalized the capital markets to attract foreign capital and funds for the growth
of the economy and sustaining GDP growth rate. Foreign funds invest in emerging income in
search of higher returns compared to domestic country. Foreign banks earn arbitrage on the basis
of interest rate parity. It’s a win-win situation for all the participants. Government has also
supported the local banks by infusing huge amount of capital to make it more competitive with
the foreign players. We can take example of Russia and India where the traditional banks are
The foreign banks have entered the domestic market through a green field investment or
acquiring a domestic bank. Domestic bank acquisition has given immediate reach and
The economies have recovered from the crisis, and it is the time for consolidation. The
governments are looking at their policies and regulations to find out flaws and answers to such
crisis in future. Following are some developments that we can expect in future for the banking
• The developed economies will not persist with low interest rates. The emerging
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war will continue as emerging markets are majorly driven by exports, where as
• Consumers have shifted to more on savings and less on spending. This trend in
economies as the growth rate for consumption driven economies will further
decline
• Regulation in most of the markets will stricter and stringent hereon to combat
future crisis like situations. It will have a positive impact on the transparency of
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• The rating of foreign countries might come down after the crisis. Hence the
required rate of return for foreign investors might be higher in the coming years
The future of the world financial economy is with the emerging markets. The foreign banks will
play a significant role in the growth of these economies not only with borrowing and lending
activities but also with monetary policy of central bank and the government.
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Bibliography
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Appendix
External Positions of reporting banks vis-à-vis all sectors with BIS (BIS Statistics)
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