#01-20
"The International Expansion of Singapore's Largest Banks"
Abstract: Singapore's "Big 4" banks, plus the newly merged Keppel TatLee Bank, have offices throughout the Asia-Pacific area, in London and North America as well and are also acquiring banks in Asia. Several factors have been particularly salient in explaining the timing and location of their expansion: government policies in the host and home country, ethnic ties based on the Overseas Chinese diaspora, and the family ownership and management of several of the banks. The process of their expansion has been marked by both sequential, incremental moves and by abrupt, large jumps stemming from historical accidents.
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