Banking Business Internationalization in Developing Countries (Evidence From Azerbaijan and Ukraine)

Abstract

The article is devoted to the study of the banking business' internationalization impact on financial markets, which is especially implemented in developing countries, primarily in post-communist states. The reasons for foreign banks to conquer new markets in this region have been the subject of numerous studies. The article's novelty is the comparative analysis of the banking systems' internationalization in Azerbaijan and Ukraine, through both theoretical and econometric aspects. As a result of existing concepts of banking internationalization's generalization, three generic features were identified: economies of scale, competitive advantage over local banks, customers' financial behavior; based on this, the systematics for theoretical support of this process is proposed. Based on the comparison of foreign-owned banks share in developed and emerging countries, it is concluded a presence of the fundamental international banking business' expansion in developing countries on the eve of the global financial crisis, which served as an aggravating circumstance in the spread of negative consequences. The level of deposits dollarization and foreign exchange Loans-to-Deposits Ratio proves the key role of international banks in provoking currency credit expansion in both countries; in Ukraine this expansion (due to central bank's irrational actions in foreign exchange regulation) has grown into a credit boom, which especially negatively affected the global financial crisis flow in the state. For empirical confirmation of these assumptions, the economic analysis of banking systems internationalization and development indicators in Azerbaijan and Ukraine was realized through VAR-modeling. The key factors were: cross-border net position of international banks for residents of these countries, system's capitalization, Loans-to-Deposits Ratio, share of deposits in bank passives and the actual banking multiplier. The analysis substantiates the significant impact of international banking business on the state of the banking systems, the degree of which depends on the type of trade policy.