Multinational Banks and Foreign Expansion Decisions

This book presents a systematic review of the literature on the foreign expansion decisions of multinational banks (MNBs). With today’s increasing level of globalization, many banks have expanded their activities internationally to take advantage of new opportunities in different markets. As each extension strategy brings distinctive benefits and challenges, finding an optimal approach to internationalization plays a crucial role in maximizing the advantages while decreasing the drawbacks under changing conditions. After screening 141 papers, 28 articles from leading international research journals were selected according to defined criteria in order to provide a synthesized framework connecting MNBs’ decisions to enter foreign markets with the reasons and consequences. The book argues that the MNBs’ main motivations for foreign expansion are related to location and ownership factors. Based on the priorities of these motives, MNBs can choose cross-border lending, greenfield investment or acquisition as an entry mode. Since each has its own benefits and challenges, the chosen strategy has further implications for both the profitability of MNBs and the economic conditions of the host country regarding the competition level, lending pattern to small and medium enterprises (SMEs), market interest rates and financial stability. After establishing a link between the main drivers of foreign expansion, the entry mode choices, and the impacts of foreign bank presence in the host country, the book offers managers of MNBs insights into the further implications. Highlighting the gaps in literature, it also appeals to researchers looking for future areas of study.