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Cross-border diversification in bank asset portfolios

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Author Info
Claudia M. Buch () (Department of Economics, Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen, Germany)
John C. Driscoll () (Federal Reserve Board)
Charlotte Ostergaard () (Department of Finance, Norwegian School of Management, Norway)

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Abstract

Taking the mean-variance portfolio model as a benchmark, we compute the optimally diversified portfolio for banks located in France, Germany, the U.K., and the U.S. under different assumptions about currency hedging. We compare these optimal portfolios to the actual cross-border assets of banks from 1995-1999 and try to explain the deviations. We find that banks over-invest domestically to a considerable extent and that cross-border diversification entails considerable gain. Banks underweight countries which are culturally less similar or have capital controls in place. Capital controls have a strong impact on the degree of underinvestment whereas less political risk increases the degree of over-investment.

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Paper provided by European Central Bank in its series Working Paper Series with number 429.

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Length: 43 pages
Date of creation: Jan 2005
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Handle: RePEc:ecb:ecbwps:20050429

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Related research
Keywords: International banking; portfolio diversification; international integration;

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Find related papers by JEL classification:
G21 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - Banks; Other Depository Institutions; Mortgages
G11 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - Portfolio Choice; Investment Decisions
E44 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Money and Interest Rates - - - Financial Markets and the Macroeconomy
F40 - International Economics - - Macroeconomic Aspects of International Trade and Finance - - - General

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References listed on IDEAS
Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.:
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Full references

Cited by:
(explanations, Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.)

  1. Philipp Paulus, 2006. "Brüssel, Frankfurt oder Basel - Wo muss das Problem steigender Staatsschulden in der Europäischen Währungsunion gelöst werden?," Otto-Wolff-Institut Discussion Paper Series 01/2006, Otto-Wolff-Institut für Wirtschaftsordnung, Köln, Deutschland. [Downloadable!]
  2. Mark Carey & Greg Nini, 2004. "Is the corporate loan market globally integrated? a pricing puzzle," International Finance Discussion Papers 813, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (U.S.). [Downloadable!]
  3. Sven Blank & Claudia M. Buch, 2007. "International Bank Portfolios: Short- and Long-Run Responses to the Business Cycle," IAW Discussion Papers 29, Institut für Angewandte Wirtschaftsforschung (IAW). [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  4. Francisco F. Vázquez & Alicia García-Herrero, 2007. "International Diversification Gains and Home Bias in Banking," IMF Working Papers 07/281, International Monetary Fund. [Downloadable!]
  5. Cai, Fang & Warnock, Francis E., 2005. "International diversification at home and abroad," Discussion Paper Series 1: Economic Studies 2005,06, Deutsche Bundesbank, Research Centre. [Downloadable!]
  6. Evelyn Hayden & Daniel Porath & Natalja von Westernhagen, 2006. "Does Diversification Improve the Performance of German Banks? Evidence from Individual Bank Loan Portfolios," Working Papers 110, Oesterreichische Nationalbank (Austrian Central Bank). [Downloadable!]
  7. Evelyn Hayden & Daniel Porath & Natalja Westernhagen, 2007. "Does Diversification Improve the Performance of German Banks? Evidence from Individual Bank Loan Portfolios," Journal of Financial Services Research, Springer, vol. 32(3), pages 123-140, December. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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