Dancing the Viennese waltz or just doing business? The policy of parent banks in CESEE countries

Abstract

ABSTRACT We investigate how group- and market-specific traits impact the credit policy of foreign-owned banks operating in Central, Eastern and South-Eastern European (CESEE) countries over the 1995–2015 period using an instrumental variable fixed effects approach. This period includes the years of the global financial crisis (GFC), during which the Vienna Initiative (VI) was established to limit the negative impact of the crisis on five CESEE countries in which foreign-owned banks play a considerable role. We find evidence that the credit policy of banks operating in VI countries and/or owned by VI parents differs from the overall policy in the region. Our study suggests that parent banks focus on the geographical diversification of group assets on host markets, followed by ensuring that there is strict capital control and that return on equity outperforms that of the market. Our results confirm that the VI was efficient in immunising subsidiaries and countries.