Data on cross-border exposures of 61 largest European banks

Abstract

This article introduces a unique and hand-collected dataset on cross-border exposures of 61 European banks. Getting a complete overview of the cross-border positions of European banks is challenging, as there are no regular reporting standards for banks’ foreign exposures split by country. Most studies therefore rely on data on banks’ foreign subsidiaries. This however leads to a significant underestimation of banks’ cross-border positions. We collect data from annual reports and other public sources for the period 2010-2017 in order to construct a dataset covering the complete cross-border exposures by banks. The dataset is valuable to academic researchers in finance and economics as well as central banks interested in financial globalization. The data are collected at the individual bank-level, and this provides opportunities for researchers aiming to analyse the impact of banks’ strategic decisions [1]. Lastly, since the cross-border exposures are split by host country the data can be used in gravity models, since it provides a measure of connectedness between banks and/or countries.

Keywords

• Cross-border banking
• Geographical diversification
• Internationalization
• Financial globalization