Problems and Issues

Abstract

In preceding chapters we viewed the rapid growth of foreign banking in the United States, and noted that the period 1965–75 has witnessed at least a partial internationalisation of the American banking system and credit markets. At yearend 1974 foreign banks in the U.S. held $56 billion in resources, representing over 6 per cent of the assets in the U.S. banking system. The following discussion focuses on three basic questions. Are the effects from this expansion of foreign banks in the U.S. on balance beneficial or harmful? What problems have been created as a result of the expansion of foreign banking in the United States? And do the regulatory proposals of 1973–75 (discussed in Chapter 7) effectively deal with the real issues posed by the growth of foreign banking in the U.S. ?

America cannot be an ostrich with its head in the sand.

Woodrow Wilson