The Meaning of Geography, Institutions and Convergence for Cross-border Bank Activities. An Empirical Analysis of Austrian Banks' Foreign Assets since 1995

The intensifying cross-border lending activity of Austrian banks since the mid-1990s has to date only been captured and presented at a statistical-descriptive level. A comprehensive micro-econometric analysis of the driving factors behind the primarily Eastern European-orientated foreign activities of the small- and mid-sized banks typical of the Austrian banking system has yet to be carried out. The main objective of this study is to close that gap.