Conclusions

Abstract

This book has looked at the theory and empirics underpinning foreign direct investment with a view to develop a framework to better understand how this type of international capital operates in the financial sector. In particular, it has looked at the type of motivations which underlie a commercial bank’s decision to go abroad. Even though analytical frameworks to conduct this analysis do exist, the task is challenging if not daunting, due to the unresolved issues which are particular of FDI research, such as the choice and quality of parameters which explain FDI, the need for refining qualitative measures of social, economic, and political factors, and in particular, establishing an appropriate measure for liberalization conditions which determine foreign bank location.