Internationalization of Banks: Strategic Patterns and Performance

This essay investigates the relationship between the internationalization of banks, profitability and shareholder value. We argue that in general internationalization has not contributed to profitability, and shareholders have not gained by investing in banks with more international activities. A database with internationalization measures is constructed for the 3 to 5 largest banks in 8 countries between 1980 and 2003, leading to a sample of 44 banks. The transnationality index is calculated for each bank, combining foreign assets, foreign income and foreign staff into one index.