Financial Markets in Central and Eastern Europe: Stability and Efficiency

Central and Eastern European countries have built up financial systems adapted to market economies. The stability and efficiency of these systems are essential to their economic development and competitiveness. Many of the countries are also EU accession countries in the process of transforming their legal and institutional infrastructure towards Western European standards. Most of the accession countries are aiming at becoming EMU-members and want to replace their currencies by the Euro within a few years. Among the topics analyzed in this book are: * The efficiency of domestic financial institutions in comparison to the efficiency of foreign institutions. * The penetration of foreign banks and the formation of cross-border financial groups. * The implications of financial integration for capital movements and financial stability. This book contains contributions from high ranking officials in Central Banks, supervisory institutions, and International organizations, and byacademic specializing in the functioning of financial institutions and markets. It provides valuable insights to bankers, politicians, market analysts, as well as to more general readers.