International banking centres: a network perspective

BIS Quarterly Review  |  December 2007  | 
10 December 2007

International banking centres have attracted renewed interest recently, as established centres compete over more dimensions while new centres emerge. Comparative studies often focus on indicators of financial activity in a particular location, but the prominence of an international banking centre also reflects cross-border linkages with banks in other locations. This feature combines these cross-border linkages into a global network and identifies important banking centres using network methods. The range of measures discussed capture the degree to which banking centres can be considered central to the international banking network.

JEL classification: F34, G21, L14, C45.