Before as well as after the financial crisis of 2008, German banks' financial center affiliates have been on aggregate four times as large as the affiliates located elsewhere, and their balance sheet total has been half the size of the German parent banks' aggregate total assets. In addition,...

The choice between foreign direct investment (FDI) and exports has been a recurrent theme in the literature on international trade, yet few studies have analysed this choice at the level of the individual firm. This paper uses a new dataset to study the FDI-versus-exports decision for banks. We...

The presence of other firms in a foreign market can have a double-edged effect on the profitability of new entrants. Firstly, a larger presence of other firms implies more competition and thus lowers the earnings prospects of new entrants. Secondly, there might be positive spill-over effects...