ABSTRACT
This chapter contributes to debates on globalisation and local embeddedness by discussing the interrelationships in the context of financial services. Some accounts of financial services restructuring argue that globalisation has led to the 'end of geography', denoting the declining importance of spatial processes in patterns of financial production. The financial services industry is comprised of many sectors with different geographies. The chapter uses data from qualitative interviews with finance professionals in Australia to explore different patterns of local embeddedness in three global financial services: swaps dealing, futures broking, and master custody. Financial services have different informational contents with implications for local embeddedness. Local embeddedness is important because although interbank transactions occur by telephone or Reuters direct dealing system, dealers prefer to work with rivals they know and through an established relationship. The importance of information acquisition also contributes to the local embeddedness of swap banks.
