ABSTRACT
Analysis of offshore banking is a good example tor illustrating highly divergent starting points and assumptions. For economists, offshore banking is an "aggregate" outcome of a great number of business decisions to make the best and the most profitable use of international asymmetries. In the case of the global securities market, individual banking strategy, its motives and decisions are the main analytical variables. Different national associations, representing interests of the banking communities that operate locally, had been involved in the international debate even before states and the international governmental organizations became aware of the need to regulate global systemic risk. Generally, the international banking community attaches more importance to the systemic efficiency objective: in the interest of the global economy, international capital flows should not be overregulated. The chapter also presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in this book.
