Spanish Banks’ Internationalisation Strategy: Characteristics and Comparison

Abstract

Banks’ international strategy and the way in which they have expanded are explanatory factors for the economic effects of their activity. Based on information from individual institutions, the internationalisation strategies of banks based in Spain, the Netherlands and the United States have been compared. In addition, in the Spanish case, whether banks’ risk, efficiency, return and income source type differ according to the chosen model of internationalisation has been tested. The results of this comparison point to Spanish banks with subsidiaries and branches abroad having higher returns but also higher costs than banks whose foreign business is mainly cross-border.

Keywords: global financial institutions, business models, geographical diversification.

JEL Classification: E5, F3, F4, G2.