The topology of cross-border exposures: Beyond the minimal spanning tree approach

► We describe cross-border financial linkages through a network approach. ► Sparseness and connectedness are achieved through the MST construction. ► A redundancy coefficient mitigates the loss of information resulting from the MST. ► Financial crises reinforced the cross-border (redundant) interdependencies. ► Debtor and creditor countries emerge from the global financial crises since 1997.