Waves of international banking integration: A tale of regional differences

We propose an original measure of international banking integration based on gravity equations and a spline function on a panel of 14 countries and their 186 partners between 1999 and 2012. Contrary to the conventional wisdom, we uncover that: (1) the international banking integration outside the euro area has been tenaciously increasing since \1999 and has even strengthened after the crisis. (2) In contrast, the international banking integration of the euro area has been cyclical since 1999 with a peak in 2006 and a complete reversal since then. (3) This decline is not a correction of previous overshooting but a marked disintegration. (4) Outside the euro area, the level of income does not affect the shape of banking integration.