RESTRICTEDWORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONS/C/W/72
2 December 1998
(98-4837)
Council for Trade in Services
FINANCIAL SERVICES
Background Note by the Secretariat
I. INTRODUCTION
1. This note has been prepared at the request of the Council for Trade in Services in the context
of the information exchange programme.  It intends to provide background information for sectoral
discussions to be conducted by the Council.  As with previous sectoral notes by the Secretariat, thisnote is intended to provide basic and general information for the purpose of stimulating the discussion
of relevant issues by Members.
2. There is an abundance of literature related to trade in financial services.  WTO document
S/C/W/26/Add.1 of 29 May 1998 reviews a large number of empirical studies on the economic effects
of services liberalization, particularly in the area of banking services.  There have also been earlier
notes by the Secretariat on the financial services sector, and on classification and other technical
issues.
1  Readers are requested to refer to those notes, as necessary.
3. Work by other international organizations, most notably the IMF, World Bank, OECD, BIS,
IOSCO, IAIS and G30, among others, are also particularly relevant for this sector.  A number of
documents and publications issued by those organizations are introduced in the following, but it will
only be a fraction of the total.  A recent study by Wendy Dobson and Pierre Jacquet, entitled
"Financial Services Liberalization in the WTO" (Dobson, Wendy and Pierre Jacquet (1998)), not onlyanalyzes the financial services commitments made under the GATS, but also includes case studies on
selected countries.  The list of references in this publication is also useful.
4. For the financial services sector, members of the WTO Secretariat prepared a special study in
September 1997 entitled, "Opening Markets in Financial Services and the Role of the GATS" (WTO
(1997)).
2  This study discussed, inter alia , the role of the GATS in financial services liberalization, the
growing importance of financial services trade, th e benefits from liberalization of financial services
trade, and the challenges in financial services trade liberalization.  This note provides an update of
some of the observations made in this study, and to expand the discussions in light of recent
developments in the global financial markets.  The study also contains an extensive bibliography.
5. To facilitate the preparation of Members for the Council discussions, a list of possible issues
for discussion has been added at the end of each section of the Note.  The lists are by no means
exhaustive, and they (or any other part of this note) should not be interpreted as an indication of any
particular interpretation of the GATS nor of any particular views held by the Secretariat.
                                                     
1 MTN.GNS/W/68 of 4 September 1989 provides an overview of trade in financial services and
regulations affecting trade, while S/FIN/W/9 of 29 July 1996 lists some technical issues concerning financialservices schedules.
2 The opinions expressed in this study are those of the authors and do not represent any official views
of the Secretariat.S/C/W/72
Page 2
6. The note is organized in five Sections plus an Annex of Tables.  Section I is this introduction.
Section II addresses the classification of financial services under the GATS.  Section III provides anupdate of the economic importance and recent changes in the structure of financial services industries
and markets.  Section IV presents some basic features of regulation in this sector.  Section V provides
a brief overview of existing commitments under the GATS, and Section VI gives some sources which
might provide additional information on the sector.
7. Future liberalization in this sector would need to take into account the causes and effects of
the still ongoing global economic and financial crisis.  Although an attempt is made in the following
Sections III and IV to refer to the implications of the crisis on liberalization of financial services trade
and regulatory reform in Member countries as well as at the international level, it is acknowledged
that this is a particularly difficult moment to make firm observations.  However, since the interests of
Members in liberalizing financial services trade under the GATS are in the long term, the analysis
below focuses on longer-term trends and structural changes, and does not discuss day-to-day
fluctuations and volatility in the financial markets.  For that matter, short-term concerns should notunduly override the longer-term benefits from liberalization.
II. THE SECTORAL CLASSIFICATION OF FINANCIAL SERVICES
8. As noted in the document "A Brief Analysis of Cases of Ad-hoc Scheduling in Past Services
Negotiations" (S/CSC/W/11 of 9 October 1997) submitted to the Committee on Specific
Commitments, the sectoral classification in the "Services Sectoral Classification List"(MTN.GNS/W/120 of 10 July 1991) does not exactly correspond to the provisional United Nations
CPC classification (Statistical Papers, Series M, No.77, 1991).  The Annex on Financial Services (the
Annex) contains a non-exhaustive list of financial services, which is a slightly modified version of the
classification in the W/120 document.
9. In W/120, the main differences with the CP C regarding insurance are the following:
(a) accident and health insurance are included in "life" insurance instead of "non life"
insurance as in the CPC
3;
(b) reinsurance and retrocession, which were not specifically mentioned in the CPC and
were part of a residual category "other insurance services n.e.c" have been separated
out;
(c) pension fund management services are set apart from life insurance services and
included in asset management services under "banking and other financial services" 4;
and
(d) "insurance broking and agency services" and other services auxiliary to insurance
have been regrouped together as a subsector of insurance services.
10. The GATS Annex on Financial Services goes a step further in the disaggregation of "services
auxiliary to insurance" in W/120 by separating "intermediation such as brokerage and agency" from
auxiliary services and by specifying explicitly some of those auxiliary services; namely  consultancy,
actuarial, risk assessment and claim settlement services.
                                                     
3 The corresponding CPC code indicated in W/120 fo r life, accident and health insurance services
(8121) does not cover accident and health insurance (81291 under non-life insurance in the CPC), which appearsto contradict the heading for this item.
4 Again, the corresponding CPC code in W/120 does not take into account that pension fund
management services (included in 81212) are separated out and put under asset management services.S/C/W/72
Page 3
11. In banking and other financial services, W/120 introduces a more detailed breakdown than the
CPC.  For instance, CPC 81339 ("other services auxiliary to financial intermediation  n.e.c") appears
in correspondence with seven different items or subitems in the W/120.  In W/120, the activities of
financial advisors, including rating agencies, are spelled out.5  Although the Annex largely follows
W/120 in banking and other financial services, there are some improvements, such as an explicit
indication of "credit card services" under "all payment and money transmission services".
12. The above would seem to indicate that the Annex provides a more disaggregated, and for that
matter, a more appropriate classification for the purpose of scheduling than the provisional CPC.  The
new version of the CPC (Version 1.0) addresses this problem, and furthermore contains an annex
indicating an alternative (more detailed) classification of financial services.6  Some entirely new
categories such as "reinsurance services", "investment banking services", and "group pension services"
have been created.  However, the correspondence between this classification and the Annex
classification or the W/120 classification is not entirely straightforward.  For example, the exact scopeof investment banking services is not clear, and trading of derivative instruments, such as futures and
options, is separated into "securities brokerage services" (brokerage of options) and "commodity
brokerage services" (brokerage of financial derivatives other than options), which may be an
unnecessary distinction except in jurisdictions where supervisory responsibilities are divided along
this line.
13. A large majority of Members have based their Schedules on the classification in the Annex on
Financial Services or the W/120 classification.
7  However, there are other variations; while some
Schedules complement the classification in the Annex with the CPC codes, others have used original
national classifications.  As was pointed out in S/ FIN/W/9, in some instances, this has made cross-
country comparison of the Schedules difficult.  For example:  items such as the "acceptance ofdeposits" and "lending" include or exclude certain activities, insurance intermediation such as
brokerage and agency is treated either as an independent item, or is part of "services auxiliary to
insurance"; credit card services are either a part of "all payment and money transmission services", or
they constitute an independent item; there are case s in which the heading in the "Sector or subsector"
column indicates a narrower service sector or subsector than the CPC number listed below theheading, or where the CPC code indicates a narrower category than the sector listed; and services such
as "venture capital" and "services related to securities markets" are sometimes listed without further
definitions.
14. Given the pace of change in the sector, which tends to blur the distinction between various
financial services, classification issues may become important in any forthcoming negotiations onimproved commitments in this area.  The classification of hybrid products, for example "swaptions",
of new instruments such as "smart cards", or of  products distributed through new channels such as
"bancassurance"
8, may need to be clarified.  The classification of repurchase agreements (repos) or
lending of  securities may also be unclear.  Anot her point which may need to be clarified is how to
draw the line between the provision and transfer of financial information as a financial service and the
supply of such services as part of other information services, such as value-added telecommunication
services, audiovisual services or publishing.
                                                     
5 In some cases, the correspondence between the CPC code and the W/120 item is not clear.  In
addition to the discrepancies mentioned in the above foot notes, trading of transferable securities in the W/120
classification includes own-account trading by financial intermediaries, which is not covered by the CPCcode 81321 (which is for securities broking services) indicated in W/120.
6 United Nations (1998).
 7 Countries that have acceded to  the WTO recently, and the five Members submitting commitments in
financial services for the first time with the Fifth Protocol to the GATS have generally adopted the W/120 orAnnex approach, with some variations.
8 See, for example, Keren, Vered (1997).S/C/W/72
Page 4
15. Currently, a definition of a "new financial service" exists only in the Understanding on
Commitments in Financial Services (Understanding).9  The Committee on Specific Commitments has
discussed the question of "new services" more generally, but there may be a need for a discussion of
"new financial services" by looking at practical examples in the context of classification.10
16. Although the GATS classification of services, which is based on the content of the services
supplied, seems to be well-adapted to the ongoing changes in the financial services industries and
markets discussed in Section III below, it has been heard that some countries have encountereddifficulties in translating their domestic laws formulated on the basis of financial institutions to which
they apply into commitments in their Schedules.  Although such problems should not lead to changes
in the classification of financial services under the GATS, some guidance may be required for
acceding countries or Members making commitments in financial services for the first time in drafting
their offers according to a classification by service.
Issues for Discussion
(a) As indicated in S/FIN/W/9, is there a need to either harmonize the sectoral
classification of financial services, or at least make them more readily comparable
across countries, so that the Schedules could be made easier to interpret and to
compare across countries?  Can an understanding be reached by Members to follow
the classification in the Annex on Financial Services as closely as possible, and toindicate any necessary deviations from it in clear and comprehensible textual terms?
(b) Although the Secretariat has not identified any major problems with respect to the
classification in the Annex, delegates may wish to discuss whether the existing
classification is sufficiently detailed or robust for the purposes of scheduling
commitments, and is adequate for use in future negotiations.  Would delegatesconsider that there may be room for further disaggregation of the classification in the
Annex, since it sometimes groups together a fairly large number of similar services
into one category?
11  Is there also a need to clarify the classification of some service
transactions?
(c) Is the definition and appropriate classification of new financial services a possible
topic for discussion, bearing in mind specific examples of such services?  In this
context, would delegates  wish to exchange information on any new financial services
or products developed or traded on their markets?
(d) Would developing country delegates wish to raise any particular difficulties
encountered in scheduling commitments in financial services due to the existingclassification of financial services?  Have Members encountered difficulties in
scheduling their commitments by the service provided, whereas domestic laws were
based on the types of financial institutions to which the laws applied?  Is their a need
to address such difficulties in a systematic manner?
                                                     
9 The Understanding has been adopted by 31 Members for scheduling specific commitments, including
five Members deciding to adopt it as a result of the most recent negotiations.
10 S/CSC/M/6, Report of the Meeting Held on 16 October, 1998.  Some Members have stated in their
Schedules either the need to establish a regulatory framework before admitting new financial services (EU,Japan) or that new financial services or products are subject to certain requirements or approval (Malaysia,
United States).
11 For example, "transferable securities" could be clas sified according to type (stocks, bonds, asset-backed
securities etc.) or by issuer (corporations, governments, financial institutions etc.); derivative products could bebroken down by the underlying instrument (securities, financial market indicators, commodities etc.); and servicessuch as credit card services or electronic payment systems ("smart card" services) and pension fund managementservices could be made independent items.S/C/W/72
Page 5
III. THE ECONOMIC IMPORTANCE OF THE SECTOR
The Importance of the Sector in the Domestic Economy
17. A detailed account of the growing importance of the financial services sector in the domestic
economies of countries, and the potential for furthe r growth in financial services trade is found in
WTO (1997).  Tables 1 and 2 update or revise the tables contained in WTO (1997) showing the share
of the financial services sector in total employment and value-added.  They still indicate that, in many
countries, the sector has grown in importance over the last 20-25 years, although since 1990 there
appears to be a levelling-off of the growth trend in  many mature financial markets.  It should also be
noted that the effect of the recent global economic and financial crisis remains to be seen in those
statistics.  Negative effects from the crisis on the assets and earnings of banks and securities firms are
expected to appear in the statistics, although the outlook may not be bleak for all countries.  In
insurance, insurance premiums as a percentage of GDP have been rising for many countries asindicated in Chart 1b. of WTO (1997), but in 1995-96, there appears to have been a levelling-off of
the trend in many non-European OECD countries. (Table 3)
18. The ongoing consolidation and restructuring of the financial services industries in the
industrialized countries discussed below are also taking effect during the course of this year.  Major
downsizing is taking place in the financial sectors of the emerging market countries, and the effects ofthe global financial crisis are starting to be felt in the industrialized countries as well.  In particular,
the recent heavy losses incurred by the market turmoil appear to be leading to job cuts in the financial
sector, especially in global investment banks, although there are also potential growth areas such as
asset management and OTC (over-the-counter) trading of securities and derivatives.
 12   A recent
report by the ILO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific indicates a high level of job losses in thatregion, especially in the construction, financial services and manufacturing sectors.
13  Apart from the
effect of the crisis, it is reported that in the financial and transport sectors, the introduction of
information technology has increased vastly the de mand for high-skilled white-collar workers, while
that for low-skilled white-collar workers have fallen in some sectors such as insurance.14
International Trade in Financial Services
19. Table 4 updates the same table in WTO (1997).  Table 5  gives further details for selected
Members for which complete data were readily available.  The figures generally show further growth
in both cross-border financial services exports and imports of countries, but again, the effects of the
financial crisis have not appeared in those figures.  There are no readily available figures forinvestment in commercial presence of foreign financial institutions, except for the United States.
15
The data for this latter country shows the grow ing importance of cross-border trade in fee-based
banking and securities services,16 although sales and purchases by and from majority-owned affiliates
are still more important in absolute terms. (Table 6)
20. There is also evidence that cross-border capital flows and activity in international financial
markets grew in 1997, despite the global financial crisis.17  It is worth noting, in particular, that
                                                     
12 See, for example, "Wall Street mulls layoffs", http://www.cnnfn.com, 22 September 1998.
13 See ILO (1998a).
14 See ILO (1998).  This report, while estimating that about 140 million workers are fully unemployed
in the world, expects that an additional 10 million workers will be unemployed by the end of 1998, mainly as aresult of the large-scale displacement of workers in East Asia due to the economic crisis.
15 As reported in WT/WGTI/W/24, the OECD and EUROSTAT have been working on data collection
on activities of foreign affiliates in the service sector.  First results for some countries have now become
available from the OECD Secretariat, but the data appear to be fragmentary at this stage.
16 Proceeds from deposit-taking and lending activities are not reflected in the data due to measurement
problems.  See P. 3-17 of USITC (1998).
17 See, for example, BIS (1998) P. 142-3.S/C/W/72
Page 6
foreign direct investment (FDI) grew in 1997, alt hough some levelling-off is expected for 1998 in
some emerging-market countries.18  The "World Investment Report 1998" by UNCTAD reports that
FDI has remained a source of relative stability in capital flows to developing countries, and has
showed resilience in the face of the financial crisis in Asia and the Pacific. (Table 7)19  It is pointed
out that there are also factors conducive to increasing FDI to countries affected by the crisis, such asdecreased costs and enhanced export competitiveness.
20 The steady growth in FDI may also be partly
attributable to the underlying trend towards globalisation of finance and lowering of regulatorybarriers in various sectors including financial services.
21. Even as a complete sectoral breakdown of FDI flows is not available, growth in overall FDI
implies increased financial services trade not only through commercial presence, but also cross-
border.
21  There are, to be sure, a number of features of the data on FDI flows that suggest caution in
interpreting its growth, such as problems in the definition of FDI and data compilation.22  D e s p i t e
such measurement problems, the fact remains that FDI flows to emerging market countries have been
relatively resilient in the face of the ongoing cris is.  In this context, improved commitments made in
mode 3 (commercial presence) as a result of the WTO financial services negotiations concluded last
year are expected to be a supporting factor for st eady flows of FDI capital, including inflows to the
countries most seriously affected by the current crisis.
The Changing Structure of the Financial Services Industries and Markets
22. In recent years, rapid and significant changes have occurred in the structure of financial
services industries around the world.  Not only have markets become integrated across traditional
product lines or within national borders, but they have increasingly become so globally.  Competition
among different types of financial institutions (and between financial institutions and non-financial
enterprises) has become intense, in addition to stronger competition between industry peers.  World-wide cross-border mergers and acquisitions (M&As) in banking and insurance are now transforming
the industry.  Such M&As are aimed at the global restructuring or strategic positioning of firms in
these industries, and are experiencing a surge very recently.
23  Evidence of the growing
internationalization of financial markets can be seen from various data, especially for the OECD
countries (Charts).24  Although existing rankings of the world's top banks are still dominated by
institutions from the major industrialized countries, banks from China, Brazil and Singapore appear in
the top 100 list.25  There is also evidence that a large number of banking entities from developing and
transition economies have established themselves in OECD countries (Table 8).26
                                                     
18 See BIS (1998) above and IMF (1998a) for recent developments in international financial markets.
19 UNCTAD (1998).  Box I.1.of this report describes a number of factors leading to a greater overall
stability of FDI flows in comparison with portfolio investment flows, including longer-term interests of
transnational corporations.
20 See UNCTAD (1998) op. cit.   Box II.1 of this Report also discusses the difficulty in measuring the
international spread of banking, and cites some statistics on the international distribution of banking entitiesbased on publicly accessible sources.
21 A sectoral breakdown provided for Thailand in UNCTAD (1998) op. cit.  indicates strong growth of
FDI inflows from 1996 to 1997 and into 1998 first quarter for this country. (Annex Table A.VII.1.)
22 Box 2.2 of IMF (1998a) provides a brief analysis of those problems.
23 Described in UNCTAD(1998).
24 See, for example, Table IV.23 in the Trade Policy Review of the United States (WTO (1996)) and
P. 130 of the Trade Policy Review of Japan (WTO (1998a), showing the growing activities and shares of foreignbanks in the U.S. and Japanese markets.  The European Commission's market access database(http://www.mkaccdb.eu.int) also provides information on foreign participation in the financial services markets
of selected non-EU countries.  The National Treatment Study of the U.S. Treasury (U.S. Department of the
Treasury (1994)) also contains such information, but has become slightly out-of-date.
25 See, for example, The Banker , July 1998 and Euromoney , June 1998.  It may be noted that many of
the banks from industrialized countries ranking high on the list are those with extensive operations in emergingmarkets, such as HSBC Holdings, Citicorp and Deutsche Bank.  In the top 1,000 list compiled by The Banker,S/C/W/72
Page 7
23. Such changes have been enhanced or, in many cases, instigated by deregulation which
eliminated or weakened existing segmentation of fi nancial services industries, increasingly enabling
one-stop shopping for the consumer of banking, securities, insurance and asset management services.
As a result, financial markets are now classified by the services provided, rather than by the different
types of financial institutions that provide them.27 An inter-mingling of various financial services
activities and the blurring of the distinctions between different types of financial institutions areobserved in many industrialized countries.
24. Competition between markets has also intensified.  Offshore markets and financial centres
prospered when regulation was tight in most major industrialized country markets, but as deregulation
has taken hold in many of the world's major markets, they may look less attractive in this sense.  Tax
rules have been strengthened to fill loopholes created by the so-called tax havens, which would also
diminish the incentives to develop businesses in offshore financial centres.  Regulation to prevent
money laundering has been strengthened through international cooperation.  The result is increasedcompetition between financial centres on the basis of synergies of skills and infrastructure.  A recent
survey on financial centres
28 concludes that although at least some of the financial centres will
continue to thrive, those that thrive will increasingly take business away from rival centres, and
today's mainly national centres will be replaced by just a handful of international centres.
The Impact of New Technologies
25. Technological advances have had major impacts on the financial services industries.  The
advent of information technology has had the effect of introducing a whole new range of competitors
to the financial services markets.  Telecommunications providers and large retail distributors are
entering the sector with direct access to the consumer.29  Automatic teller machine (ATM) networks,
electronic fund transfer at point of sale (PoS), home banking or remote banking, and smart cards are
cited as principal types of virtual financial services, bringing about a "virtual banking revolution".30
Revolutionary changes have taken place in stock ex changes where floor trading is almost completely
replaced by computerized trading.  Most of the world's major securities and derivatives exchanges
provide electronic transactions facilities and the settlement and clearing of financial transactions arealso done electronically.
26. For that matter, electronic banking transactions and securities trading have long become the
norm between financial institutions, but they are in creasingly becoming so between businesses.  On
the other hand, at the retail level, relatively few of the world's major banks yet provide on-line
banking services.  This situation is expected to chan ge rapidly, however, as the full cost of an Internet
transaction is estimated to be a fraction of the cost of a transaction made over a bank counter.  In the
insurance sector, on-line sales and service are expected by some to replace most traditional sales
through agents or telephone services.
31  Tailored or one-to-one marketing of financial products and
services becomes much easier and less costly through the Internet.  Various forms of financial advice
and personal services are also well adapted to electronic delivery, but the speed of their development
                                                                                                                                                                    
U.S. banks appear to be the most profitable, as they represent 12 per cent of the total in assets and 18 per cent of
Tier 1 capital, but raise 32 per cent of total pre-tax profits.
26 See Annex Tables A.II.4. and 5. in UNCTAD (1998).
27 See European Commission (1997).
28 The Economist , 9 May 1998.
29 See U.S. Department of Commerce (1998) and Hindle, Tim (1997).
30 For example, see Essinger, James (1998).  Such changes, however, may not always follow a straight
course.  See, for example, The Economist , 21 November 1998, on the tepid reaction of consumers to smart
cards.
31 It is reported, however, that the insurance industry  has not yet embraced the use of the Internet to the
extent other financial services have, partly due to regulatory concerns.  See Pomeroy, Glenn (1998).S/C/W/72
Page 8
may depend on the security and privacy of financial transactions over the Internet.32  A l m o s t  a l l
financial institutions are projected to have an Internet site offering basic services by the year 2000,and 42 per cent plan to offer advanced Internet services such as online bill payment and balance
inquiries.
33
Financial Services Trade by Modes of Supply
27. With the advent of new technologies and the resulting possibilities of remote transactions, one
would expect that mode 1 (cross-border) trade will become more and more common in the supply of
financial services, as compared to mode 3 (commercial presence).34  However, for certain types of
financial services, in particular asset management and private banking or life insurance, which
involves long-term contracts or personal attention, direct contact between the consumer and the
supplier still appears to be a necessity.  The investment required for gaining access to electronic
transactions, and the security and other regulatory issues associated with them, would still limit
growth in cross-border trade, especially for the re tail consumer.  Consequently, although the relative
importance of modes of supply in financial services seems to be shifting in favour of mode 1 recently,
mode 3 may still be the predominant mode for the supply of financial services, particularly in
developing countries.
The Rôle of the Public Sector
28. Given the economic importance of financial services, the fact that the financial system
constitutes a basic infrastructure of the economy, and the strong prudential concerns of countries, the
public sector has traditionally played a large rôle in the financial services sectors of countries,
although not as much as in telecommunications.  In banking, the entire banking sector or major parts
of it are still owned or controlled by public entities, although there is a clear trend towardsprivatization.  In many countries, the postal system also provides financial services, especially in rural
areas, and its share in total deposits can be as high as 20 per cent of total individual savings.
35  I n
securities, stock and derivative exchanges are often operated by public or quasi-public entities, and
businesses related to the issuance of government bonds are often under stronger public sector control
than other businesses.  Insurance operations are wholly- or partly owned and operated by the publicsector in many countries, as well.
Other Players in the Market
29. Cooperatives, mutual institutions and other entities also play an important rôle in many
countries for the supply of basic banking and insurance services.  Although the raison d'être for suchinstitutions may in some cases be diminishing due to the integration of domestic and international
markets, and increasing competition between all types of financial and non-financial institutions, they
are often granted special treatment in terms of legal status, taxes and subsidies, or exclusive supply of
certain products.
30. As mentioned above, non-financial institutions, or non-banks increasingly play an important
rôle in today's financial markets.  A majority of the so-called hedge funds are non-banks not subject to
direct supervision by financial authorities, and the deficiency of risk management systems anddisclosure with regard to those entities as well as the banks that lend to them has been pointed out.
                                                     
32 U.S. Department of Commerce (1998).  A related regulatory issue is what constitutes "solicitation"
or "active marketing" in Internet transactions, since many countries adopt regulation which prohibit or restrict
cross-border solicitation or active marketing of financial services.
33 See WTO (1998) P.29-30 and U.S. Department of Commerce (1998) P.29-33.
34 Mode 2 (consumption abroad) will be significant for the relatively wealthy, and mode 4 (presence of
natural persons) is also important for a number of services such as advisory or insurance consultancy services.
35 For example, see the Trade Policy Review of Japan, WTO (1998a).S/C/W/72
Page 9
Those funds typically accumulate huge leverage, making them major players and sources of systemic
risk for the financial sector as a whole.36
Issues for Discussion
(a) What effects will the ongoing global economic and financial crisis have on the
growth of the financial services sector and employment?   What are the short-termand long-term prospects for financial services trade given the seriousness of the crisis
and measures taken by governments to cope with it?
(b) What are the implications of technological innovations on the structure of financial
services industries and markets?  How will such changes affect financial services
trade?
(c) What possible impacts would the consolidation and restructuring of financial sectors
have on financial services trade?  Will they enhance competition and consumerwelfare?
(d) Is there a general trend towards privatization of state-owned financial institutions in
countries?  If so, what effect has it had on the structure of the financial industries and
markets?  What is the rôle of the postal savings system, and/or cooperatives and
mutual institutions in individual countries?
(e) How will developing countries be affected by the technological changes taking place
in the sector?  What conditions may be required for developing-country Members to
be able to benefit from the opportunities provided by the new technologies?
IV. REGULATION OF THE FINANCIAL SERVICES SECTOR
The Objectives of Financial Sector Regulation
31. The financial services sector is among the most heavily regulated of all service sectors.
Governments tend to intervene in various ways, since the financial sector is often considered special
in the sense that it provides certain services which are considered as "public goods".
37  The sector is
considered as constituting one of the basic infrastructures of an economy and essential fordevelopment.  Governments are under constant pressure to protect their financial sectors from
disruptions, due either to domestic or foreign factors.
38  Market failure is an acute problem in the
sector due to major asymmetries of information be tween the parties to financial transactions, and
moral hazard inevitably arises from policies to prev ent systemic risk and provide safety nets such as
deposit insurance.
32. Although the content of financial sector regulation has been changing dramatically in recent
years, as discussed below, the basic need for go vernment intervention in the sector to address
problems related to market failure appears not to have disappeared.  Chapter II of WTO (1997)
discussed four types of government intervention or  involvement that could have an impact on the
financial services sector, which were (i) macroeconomic policy management, (ii) prudential
                                                     
36 Euromoney , November 1998. It is reported that an estimated 5,000 hedge funds, with
$200-300 billion in investment capital supporting assets of  about $2 trillion, trade with the investment banks.
37 OECD (1997).  One may need to apply a certain amount of caution, however, in endorsing such
propositions, as economic theory might indicate that many of the alleged specificities of the financial sector are
actually common to many other sectors such as basic telecommunications and public transport.
38 Without prejudging the outcome of the continuing negotiation on emergency safeguard measures
under Article X of the GATS, the financial sector has always been considered as one of the sectors which mightrequire emergency safeguard measures by the proponents of such measures in services.S/C/W/72
Page 10
regulations, (iii) non-prudential regulation to pursue various public policy objectives other than that
falling under (iv), and (iv) trade restrictions concerning market access or national treatment.  Underthe GATS, item (ii) is dealt with by paragraph 2 of the Annex on Financial Services, and (iii) by
Article VI.  Item (iv) is dealt with by Articles XVI and XVII.
33. Existing studies
39 on financial services regulation have elaborated on the stated objectives of
financial services regulation, which effectively regroups (ii), (iii), and (iv) above in various ways.
They unanimously endorse the need for regulatory policies to correct perceived market failures andsystemic externalities in the financial sector, i.e. to reduce systemic risk and maintain a safe and sound
financial system while enhancing competition.  The economic gains of financial services trade
liberalization must be underpinned by appropriate supervisory and regulatory regimes domestically.
For that matter, financial services liberalization under the GATS allows Members to pursue such
policies by allowing prudential measures to be taken, while progressively removing trade and
investment restrictions in the financial services sector and enhancing competition.
40
Prudential and Other Domestic Regulation versus Trade Restrictions
34. It is beyond the purpose of this note to discuss the appropriate content of prudential regulation
or the means of adequate supervision of financial institutions.  Chapter V of WTO (1997) and IMF
(1998a) also describe recent developments in prudential regulation and supervision.  Major
international efforts have been made by the relevant international organizations to improve regulatoryand supervisory standards across countries.
41  Numerous bilateral agreements and MOUs
(Memorandums of Understanding) for the exchange of supervisory information and cooperation
between national supervisory authorities have been made in this area.42  International efforts to
prevent money laundering have also made large progress in recent years.43
35. There would be little objection to considering that, in banking, for example, capital adequacy
ratios, limits on risk concentration and risk management system requirements, liquidity requirements,
prohibitions on insider trading and transactions giving rise to conflicts of interest, rules on the
classification of and provisioning for non-performing assets, "fit and proper" tests for directors and
managers, as well as transparency and disclosure requirements constitute prudential measures.  At the
margins, however, there may be differences of views as to whether certain measures can beconsidered as prudential, and therefore, not subject to scheduling under the GATS.
44
                                                     
39 See OECD (1997) op. cit.  and Edey, Malcolm and Ketil Hviding (1995).  Also see Barfield, Claude
E. ed. (1996) op. cit. , Introduction, which distinguishes between economic regulation, H-S-E (health, safety and
environment) regulation and information regulation.
40 WTO (1997).  Also see Dobson, Wendy and Pierre Jacquet (1998) and Barfield, Claude E. ed. (1996)
for more complete discussions of regulatory issues arising in the context of financial services liberalization.
41 See BIS (1997) and other documents and publications from the same source.  The activities of the
Basle Committee on Banking Supervision in developing prudential standards for banking are extensive andwell-documented.  IOSCO (International Organization of Securities Commissions), and IAIS (InternationalAssociation of Insurance Supervisors) conduct similar work in the areas of securities and insurance.  Amongnumerous other codes and standards, IOSCO has produ ced the Statement of Objectives and Principles of
Securities Regulation and International Disclosure Standards for Cross-Border Offerings and Initial Listings by
Foreign Issuers.  IAIS has produced the Supervisory Standard on Licensing, as well as other standards.  The
OECD has also been active in the field, particularly on regulatory reform for the sector in its member countries.
42 Most such international and bilateral arrangements on prudential regulation and supervision are
based on moral authority or exchange of  letters and documents, and not on the basis of binding internationaltreaties such as the GATS.
43 Such efforts are spearheaded by the Financia l Action Task Force (FATF) based at the OECD.
44 Traditional line-of-business restrictions, such as the segregation of banking, securities and insurance
businesses such as those existing in the U.S. and Japan, have prudential objectives, but they can be perceived ashaving non-prudential elements from the point of view of European countries with a tradition of universalbanking.  Another example may be portfolio allocation rules for investments of financial institutions, where ashift appears to be occurring towards the adoption of prudent-person rules providing flexibility in investmentS/C/W/72
Page 11
36. A possible means to address concerns arising from differences in prudential regulation
between countries is for each Member to recognize the prudential measures of other countries with
high standards of prudential regulation and supervision.  Such recognition may be based on an
agreement or arrangement with the countries concerned, or may be accorded unilaterally.  Although
the Annex on Financial Services provides for such recognition, and a notification requirement exists
under Article VII:4 (a) and (c), no notification has been made under these provisions to date.45
37. Non-prudential regulatory measures such as lending requirements to certain sectors or
geographical regions, restrictions on interest rates or fees and commissions, and requirements to
provide certain services may also exist.  Services related to the issuance of public debt are often
subject to special rules and standards.  Some of those measures may be subject to scheduling under
the GATS as limitations on market access, or as limitations on national treatment, particularly when
they are applied in a discriminatory manner.  They  may also necessitate MFN exemptions, if applied
in a discriminatory manner between trading partners.
38. The development of international standards and codes of good practice in the areas of
financial services and accounting of financial transactions and institutions has been progressing
markedly in recent years.46  Such efforts are expected to reduce the possibility that domestic standards
and codes are perceived by other countries as overly burdensome or effectively constitute barriers to
trade.
39. Competition policy was not a primary concern for regulators of the financial sector in the
past, when prudential and resource allocation objectives were priorities for the sector.  In many
countries, the sector was wholly or partly owned and operated by public entities, as mentioned above,
and some financial services sectors have been excluded from the coverage of competition law in many
countries.47  In many cases, policies were implemented to curtail competition, such as interest rate
controls, limits on the number of operations, and restrictions on the services provided such as controls
on credit allocation.  However, as governments embarked on privatization and deregulation
eliminating those obstacles and increasingly shifted to  the use of market forces to attain efficiency
objectives, there is a growing need for competition policy to address anti-competitive behaviour of
financial service suppliers.  The recent surge of M&As involving the financial services industriescould be a cause for concern in this respect, unless it succeeds in raising the overall degree of
competition through transnational activities of the merged financial institutions.
40. In this respect, the rôle of industry associations and organizations may also need to be
reconsidered.  In the past, it is undeniable that such bodies often protected the collective interests of
their member companies through various formal and informal arrangements limiting competitionamong the members.  Many governments were subject to constant pressure to protect vested interests
in the financial industries.  Some industry associations or organizations have also assumed self-
regulatory functions, which is appropriate in maintaining the standards and quality of the services
provided, but may also have had negative effects on competition.
48  A review of the activities of such
associations and organizations is taking place in some countries, limiting their rôle to the development
                                                                                                                                                                    
decisions instead of numerical restrictions traditionally adopted in many European countries.  This does not
necessarily mean, however, that the traditional rules are trade restrictions limiting market access or nationaltreatment.
45 This does not mean, however, that such recognition is not made in the domestic laws or regulatory
practices of countries.
46 A compendium of such standards and codes in banking can be obtained on the Internet Homepage
www.bis.org, for example.  Also, the development and endorsement of International Accounting Standards by
IASC and IOSCO have important implications for the financial services sector.
47 WTO (1997a) Section II.7.
48 The Understanding contains a commitment to guarantee financial services suppliers of any other
Member national treatment with respect to such regulatory bodies.  (Paragraph C.2.)S/C/W/72
Page 12
and implementation of technical standards and ethical codes, provision of public information and
consulting, and other non-collusive activities.
41. Financial regulators have been generally cautious towards introducing competition in the
financial sector, due primarily to prudential concerns, but also because many countries have adopted
policies to develop domestic financial industries and markets.  Based on those concerns, licensing and
authorization requirements in financial services are often restrictive, and the conditions or
requirements sometimes extend beyond prudential objectives such as soundness and competence ofapplicants.  This appears to be the reason why many of the licensing requirements or restrictions on
the number of licenses granted were inscribed in the Schedules of Members as limitations on market
access and national treatment.
49  As such licensing requirements are liberalized and are made purely
prudential, they may no longer need to be scheduled as trade restrictions, but there may still be an
issue of whether they constitute unnecessary barriers to trade in financial services.50
Trade Restrictions and Perceived Trade Barriers
42. As can be observed from the Schedules of Member countries, and from the analysis in
Appendix 1 to WTO (1997), market access restrictions on trade in financial services abound,
particularly in emerging market countries.  On the other hand, many of those limitations have been
removed or relaxed during the successive negotiations at the WTO, both unilaterally and through
negotiations at the regional or multilateral levels.  Regional and bilateral agreements to liberalizefinancial services trade and investment are also becoming important .  They may take the form of a
single market (EU), regional economic inte gration agreements (such as NAFTA, ASEAN,
MERCOSUR), or bilateral agreements or unders tandings (such as the U.S.–Japan measures in
insurance and financial services).
51  The OECD Code of Liberalization of Capital Movements and
Code of Liberalization of Current Invisible Operat ions, as well as its National Treatment Instrument
contain comprehensive liberalization provisions for the industrialized countries.  The NAFTA
contains a special section on financial services, together with transitional measures to allow a phased-
in liberalization of this sector for Mexico.
43. With regard to market access limitations applied by WTO Members to commercial presence
of financial services suppliers, restrictions on the specific types of legal entity or joint venture andlimitations on the participation of foreign capital in local financial institutions are common.  Although
such measures may be motivated by a policy to develop national financial industries, they may also
stem from supervisory concerns, since the supervision of branches would require information on the
head office abroad, and this is more difficult than the supervision of locally incorporated subsidiaries,
particularly when the regulatory mechanism is not well-developed.
52  In this respect, international
cooperation in consolidated supervision of financial institutions is expected to gradually alleviate any
supervisory concerns.
44. Other forms of market access restrictions include limitations on the number of licenses
granted, either in the form of numerical quotas or economic needs tests.  Some countries impose a
moratorium or a freeze on new bank licenses.  A restriction on new licenses may have prudential
connotations, if countries seek to prevent "over-banking" or excessive competition in the financial
                                                     
49 It is again noted that the Understanding (paragraph B.6.) explicitly allows a Member adopting it to
impose terms, conditions and procedures for authorization of the establishment and expansion of a commercialpresence.
50 Although technically, Article VI:4 and 5 may not be applicable to prudential measures, questions
may remain as to whether they are based on objective and transparent criteria, or are not more burdensome thannecessary.
51 The content of such agreements and arrangements can be found in notifications to the WTO under
Article V of the GATS, the proceedings of the Committee on Regional Trade Agreements, and in various TradePolicy Reviews.  Also see, for example, White (1996).
52 It is interesting to note, however, that some countries (for example, India and Korea until recently)
appear to have preferred branches of foreign banks over subsidiaries.S/C/W/72
Page 13
sector for the purpose of reducing systemic risk and ensuring uninterrupted service.  However, it may
not qualify as a prudential measure within the meaning of the Annex, since it does not directly aim to
protect investors and depositors or address instability; its primary objective is to restrict competition,
including that from a sound and superior competitor.  Similar considerations may apply to restrictions
on the number of operations such as branches or ATMs, as well as limitations on the value of
transactions or assets (such as limitations on the share of banking assets allowed to be held by foreignbanks).
45. Concerning national treatment, special authorization requirements for foreign institutions,
limitations on the ownership of land, and nationality and residency requirements for members of the
board are very common.  Taxes and subsidies also cause national treatment concerns.  Taxation is
often a determining factor in the decision of the location of financial transactions and can
substantially alter the conditions of competition between financial service suppliers.
53  Subsidies are
also not uncommon, but they may take the form of preferential loans from the central bank orgovernmental entities, which may be difficult to identify.  Governmental assistance to the banking
sector provided in the context of a financial crisis may have national treatment implications, but could
constitute prudential measures if the objective is to protect depositors or to restore the stability of the
financial system.
54  National treatment and MFN are important issues in government procurement of
financial services, especially when it relates to issuance of public debt.
46. It has been stated by observers that, in the OECD countries, restrictions on market access and
national treatment in financial services have been substantially reduced thanks to reform,55 and most
of the progress, in particular for commercial presence, has been reflected in the commitments made by
those countries in the most recent negotiations.56  As a result, the focus of governments in addressing
barriers to trade in financial services appears to have shifted to non-discriminatory measures indomestic regulation including prudential measures and licensing requirements and procedures which
may have the effect of creating difficulties for foreign suppliers to make headway in the market.
57
Transparency and efficiency of the administrative process are increasingly taken up in this context.Competitive safeguards, or appropriate measures to create fair competition in newly opened markets,
become increasingly important with liberalization.
47. The scheduling of Additional Commitments for a number of countries
58 in the most recent
negotiations containing regulatory principles or guidelines on the procedures for licensing and
authorization of new activities and products would appear to be a reflection of such shifts in focus.59
As non-OECD countries also bring down trade restrictions under the GATS, remaining obstacles tofree trade in financial services for those countries are also expected to stem from various differencesin prudential or non-prudential domestic regulation across countries.
                                                     
53 The Committee on Fiscal Affairs of the OECD has been discussing issues related to the taxation of
new financial instruments and the taxation of global trading of financial instruments.  Seehttp://www.oecd.org/daf/fa.
54 S/WPGR/W/25 of 26 January 1998 reports that, acco rding to WTO Trade Policy Reviews, at least
ten Members have assisted their offshore banking sectors or rescued ailing domestic banks in recent years.
55 OECD (1997) provides such an assessment on the regulatory reform process in this sector.  The
OECD Codes of Liberalization of Capital Movements and of Current Invisible Operations undoubtedly played
an important rôle in this respect.
56 This has been achieved by the adoption of the Understanding.  However, market-access
commitments for cross-border trade of financial services in the Understanding do not cover the "core" servicesof banking, securities or insurance businesses.
57 See Kampf, Roger (1997) for a discussion of this issue.  The Understanding (paragraph B.10.)
addresses some of those concerns about non-discriminatory measures.  For some examples of perceived
regulatory barriers raised in bilateral trade relations, Industrial Structure Council, Japan (1998) and USTR(1998).  Also see European Commission (1996).
58 The European Union, Japan and the United States.  See Section IV below.
59 Some of the Additional Commitments appear to be extensions of the provision in Article VI:3.S/C/W/72
Page 14
48. Other specific concerns of financial regulators raised in past negotiations included:  matters
relating to transfers of information and data processing, including transfer of necessary equipment,financial expertise in dispute settlement on prudential issues and other financial matters, and access of
financial service suppliers to payment and clearing systems.
60
The Changing Structure of Financial Services Regulation
49. Concomitant with the changes in the structure of industries and markets over the years
discussed in Section II, major changes were made in the regulatory regimes of countries concerning
financial services in recent years.  OECD (1997) describes the evolution of financial sector regulation
in OECD countries towards market-based decision-making up to the early 1980s; e.g. the removal of
interest-rate controls and the liberalization of portfolio allocation rules, while most recent reform has
served to tighten prudential oversight by imposing stronger capital requirements and prohibition of
insider trading.61  Disclosure and accounting rules have also been tightened in many countries
especially in recent years.  For that matter, deregulation of various restrictions on the activities of thesuppliers of financial services, which involves both prudential and non-prudential regulation, has been
followed or accompanied by re-regulation in term s of stronger prudential and transparency rules as
well as competition policy.
62
50. Such deregulation and re-regulation are both the cause and the effect of the above-mentioned
inter-mingling of various financial services activities and the blurring of the distinctions betweendifferent types of financial institutions observed in many industrialized countries.  The elimination or
lowering of traditional segmentation of financial services industries has enhanced competition among
financial service suppliers, increasingly enabling one-stop shopping of banking, securities, insurance
and asset management services for consumers.  Such deregulation, however, needs to be accompanied
by  appropriate prudential and transparency rules as well as measures to prevent anti-competitivepractices, in order to effectively enhance fair competition and innovation in the financial services
industries and markets.
51. Traditionally, financial sector regulation was form ulated by the type of institution to which it
applied, such as laws on securities firms and insurance companies in many countries, as mentioned in
Section I.  However, as different financial (or non-financial) institutions enter markets which werehitherto reserved for a certain type of financial entity, legislation needs to take into account the
various players entering the market, and ensure that regulation does not distort competition amongst
them.
 63  Global, regional and bilateral integration of markets increasingly expose inconsistencies and
distortions caused by differences between national legislation, and there is a mounting need for
international coordination.
52. The ongoing international efforts towards global consolidated supervision of financial
institutions were described in WTO (1997).  However, the ability of both regulated and unregulated
entities to unbundle, repackage and trade financial risks has made it difficult, if not nearly impossible,
to identify the distribution of financial risk across institutions.  The recent episode of the collapse of a
major hedge fund has illustrated this difficulty.  Consequently, there is also an increasing need to
improve the means for consolidated supervision, as the activities of financial institutions diversify,
and financial conglomerates are created through M&As.  In addition to achieving consistency in the
                                                     
60 See the relevant provisions of the Annex and the Understanding.
61 See OECD (1997).
62 Information on regulatory developments for the OECD countries can be obtained from the
publication "Financial Market Trends" , OECD, June 1998 and other issues.
63 Such considerations extend beyond borders, as distortionary regulation could provoke regulatory
competition between countries, resulting in sub-optimal regulation overall.S/C/W/72
Page 15
regulatory treatment of different market participants , there should also be greater consistency in the
regulation of financial activity across different asset markets.64
53. In response to such needs, regulators in some countries have now moved to (i) reorganize the
regulatory structure and shift to regulation by function, applicable to all types of entities that supply
identical services; and, (ii) create a "super-regulator" which can exercise effective supervision over
various types of financial institutions and financial conglomerates.65  Regulation at sub-federal level
or geographical restrictions on the activities of financial institutions are also being revisited, as
regional market integration proceeds, or as technological advances extend the outreach of financial
institutions.66
54. The structure of regulatory and supervisory authorities at the international level is also being
reviewed, in response to the afore-mentioned integration of financial institutions and markets at the
international level.   Most recently, particularly due to the current crisis involving market volatility
and problems associated with the activities of hedge funds and inadequate risk management offinancial institutions, a strengthening of the arch itecture of the international monetary system is
called for.  The main efforts being made under the auspices of the IMF and other groups such as the
G22 and G7 in this context are (i) the development, dissemination, and adoption of internationally-
accepted standards or codes of good practice, (ii) enhancement of greater transparency and reporting,
(iii) strengthening of domestic financial systems through international collaboration and coordination,(iv) promoting the orderly integration of international financial markets, and (v) involving the private
sector in the prevention and resolution of financial crises.
67  Under item (iv), the Board of the IMF is
asked to review the experience of countries with the use of controls on capital movements, and the
circumstances under which such measures may be appropriate.68
55. It would go beyond the scope of this note to attempt to provide a full account of the current
debate on the appropriateness of capital and exchange controls in response to the present crisis.
Discussion on the desirability and proper sequencing of capital account liberalization is also very
much ongoing.69  For the purpose of this note, it may suffice to mention that liberalization of capital
movement required under the GATS is limited to that necessary for the supply of a service subject to
specific commitments in mode 1 (both inflows and outflows) and mode 3 (inflows) (Articles XI
and XVI (footnote)), as pointed out by Dobson, Wendy and Pierre Jacquet (1998). 70  Even when
governments find it necessary to temporarily strengthen capital controls for prudential reasons, i.e. to
ensure the integrity and stability of the financial system, they would wish to ensure that such measures
                                                     
64 IOSCO (1998).
65 Box 5.9 of IMF (1998a) discusses the Financial Services Authority of the United Kingdom as an
example of such endeavours.
66 Obvious examples are the creation of the single market in Europe and liberalization of interstate
banking in the United States.
67 Communiqué of the Interim Committee of the IMF, 4 October 1998, and the Report of the Managing
Director to the Interim Committee on Strengthening th e Architecture of the International Monetary System,
October 1998.  Also see the reports of the three G22 Working Groups on those issues.  All those documents areavailable on http://www.imf.org.
68 Various proposals have been made by market participants and observers.  See, for example, Soros,
George (1998).  Some proposals included in this testimony are: the establishment of an International Credit
Insurance Corporation, the establishment of some kind of international supervision over the national supervisoryauthorities, and a reconsidering of the international banking system and the functioning of the swap andderivative markets.
69 An interesting contrast of views can be seen in Bhagwati, Jagdish (1998), Krugman, Paul (1998) and
Summers, Laurence H.(1998).  Also see UNCTAD (1998a).
70 According to these authors, "Market access and fo reign entry imply that some freedom of capital
movement will follow, but that freedom need not be full-blown."  IMF (1998b) states that there is clearly scopefor strengthening efforts to ensure that capital accoun t liberalization is well sequenced and prudent (P.18).
Also see Sorsa, Piritta (1997).  Kono, Masamichi and Ludger Schuknecht (1998) attempts to provide
further discussion of the distinction between financia l services liberalization an d capital account liberalization.S/C/W/72
Page 16
do not undermine the substantial benefits derived from liberalization of financial services trade under
the GATS.71
56. Although it is too early to foresee the outcome of the most recent reforms being undertaken
by governments in financial services regulation and supervision, there seems to be no doubt that they
aim to improve the functioning of the markets, and to complete rather than reverse achievements in
financial services liberalization.  Adequate prudential regulation and supervision, enhanced
transparency and corporate governance, strengthened competition policy, provision of safety nets, andproper legal and accounting systems are all preconditions for countries to be able to benefit from the
sizable benefits of liberalization.
Issues for Discussion
(a) Have Members encountered any problems in interpreting the scope of prudential
measures as defined in the GATS Annex?  If yes, what would be the possible
solutions to such problems?  Could countries inform other Members of experienceswith recognition of prudential measures of other countries?
(b) What are the major remaining trade restrictions in financial services?  Are Members
aware of any prudential and non-prudential measures taken in domestic regulation
which constitute obstacles to  trade in financial services?
(c) What are the implications for the GATS and Members' commitments of recent reform
in financial sector regulation in many countries?  Would the ongoing reform in the
architecture of the international monetary system have implications for liberalization
of financial services trade under the GATS?
V. COMMITMENTS UNDER THE GATS
57. Appendix 1 of WTO (1997) provides an analysis of the coverage, level and type of existing
GATS commitments (before the conclusion of the most recent negotiations) in financial services.
Although significant improvements have been made to those commitments as a result of the financial
services negotiations concluded last December, those new commitments have not yet entered into
force as of the date of this note, and the numerical analysis presented in Tables 10 to 21 of the above
publication could not be updated due to resource constraints.72  However, a summary of the mainimprovements resulting from the negotiations is available on the WTO Internet Homepage
(http://www.wto.org) as well as a briefing note on the results of the most recent negotiations.
73
58.   Table 9 shows the sectoral coverage of the commitments, taking into account the progress
made in the negotiations.  It shows that almost all Members with commitments in financial services
cover the "core" services in insurance, banking, and securities.  Somewhat fewer Members madecommitments in areas such as insurance intermediation and the provision and transfer of financial
information.  Only about a half of the Members with financial services commitments made them in
                                                     
71 See IMF (1998a), Section III for a discussion of th e policy issues involved.  It is stated that (in
emerging markets where there are limits to the p ace at which financial sectors can be strengthened)
policymakers need to undertake an orderly opening of their financial systems, and may need to considerimposing temporary measures to restrain certain types of (capital) inflows (P.79).  Also see Krugman, Paul(1998), for example.
72 Such analysis, when it becomes available, will be distributed as an addendum to this note.
73 See also Kampf, Roger (1998); Dobson, Wendy and Pierre Jacquet (1998); and British Invisibles
(1998) for an assessment of the results.  Mattoo, Aaditya (1998) provides an analysis of the new commitmentsmade by developing countries.  Analysis made before the most recent negotiations include Kampf, Roger(1995), Bedore, James (1995), Sorsa, Piritta (1997), and Key, Sydney J. (1997).S/C/W/72
Page 17
derivatives trading.  Improvements were made in all of the three major financial service sectors,
banking, securities and insurance.74
59. Concerning the modal coverage of the commitments made, there is a continuing
predominance of commitments for commercial presence (mode 3) as compared to those for
cross-border supply (mode 1).  Most improvements made in the course of the most recent negotiations
were also for mode 3, but there were some exceptions such as Macau which made improvedcommitments exclusively in cross-border supply and consumption abroad (modes 1 and 2).
Improvements in mode 3 were made, inter alia , by eliminating or relaxing limitations on foreign
ownership of local financial institutions, limitations on the juridical form of commercial presence
(such as branches, subsidiaries, representative offices, etc.) and limitations on the expansion of
existing operations.
60. An important issue in the negotiations was the "grandfathering" of existing branches and
subsidiaries of foreign financial institutions that were wholly- or majority- owned by foreigners.  Thiswas when the commitment in a Member's Schedule became more restrictive than the status quo in the
country (for example, in terms of the share of foreign capital allowed in local financial institutions, or
in terms of the number of branches allowed) due to a change in the laws of the country, a specific
commitment was made to guarantee the prevailing level of market access to foreigners.  At least seven
Members (Brazil; Hong Kong, China; Indonesia; Malaysia; Pakistan; Philippines; and Thailand
75)
explicitly made such guarantees in their Schedules as a result of the most recent negotiations.76
61. Sectoral MFN exemptions in financial services have been taken by 39 Members.77  Although
broad MFN exemptions based on reciprocity (or similar requirements) were largely eliminated as a
result of the most recent negotiations, they remain in the MFN exemption lists of 13 Members.78  In
relation to the question of grandfathering existing foreign ownership in local financial institutions, theUnited States took an MFN exemption in insurance, applicable in a circumstance of forced divestiture
of U.S. ownership in insurance service providers operating in WTO Member countries.
62. Additional Commitments have been made only by a small number of countries.  While some
Members (Brazil, Japan and European Union for Swed en) used this column to indicate future plans
for undertaking further commitments, or progress in regulatory reform, others (European Union,Japan and United States) have entered regulatory principles or guidelines for administrative
procedures as a result of the most recent negotiations.
63. It should be noted that liberalization of financial services trade (and the preparation of an
offer to bind them under the GATS) is continuing even after the conclusion of the negotiations,
despite the ongoing economic and financial crisis.  A number of countries have undertaken measures
                                                     
74 Dobson, Wendy and Pierre Jacquet (1998)
75 For this country, grandfathering is also applied to new entrants during a period of ten years during
which foreign equity participation limits in locally incorporated banks are suspended.
76 Mattoo, Aaditya (1998) contains a summary table of such commitments made by Members.
77 Including Côte d'Ivoire which does not yet have commitments in financial services, but has entered
an MFN Exemption List on 12 December 1997 (S/L/48).
78 Brunei Darussalam, Colombia, Honduras, Hungary, Indonesia, Israel, Mauritius, Peru, Philippines,
Turkey, United Arab Emirates and Venezuela.  As a result of the most recent negotiations, Mauritius has limited
the scope of its MFN exemption based on reciprocity to services not listed in its Schedule of Specific
Commitments.  Hungary has limited the applicability of its exemption by removing a discretionary licensingrequirement.  The Philippines has reduced the scope of its exemption in commercial banking by excluding theexpansion of existing operations from the scope, leaving only the establishment of new commercial presence.Venezuela has reduced the scope of its exemption by removing capital market services from the coverage.S/C/W/72
Page 18
to liberalize the establishment of foreign bank subsidiaries and other financial institutions as part of
their economic and financial reform programmes.79
Issues for Discussion
(a) How far do current commitments reflect actual access conditions in the financial
services sectors of countries?  What types of trade restrictions are still common in
Members?
(b) Could delegates provide updates on liberalization measures taken in their countries
after the conclusion of the most recent negotiations?
VI. OTHER SOURCES OF INFORMATION
64. A large number of sources of information have been tapped in preparing this note, but given
the wealth of information for this sector, it would be possible only to provide a list of the major
sources.  Notifications made under the GATS are obvious sources of information on regulatory
developments, and in particular on economic integration agreements.  On trade barriers as perceivedby countries, major sources of information for the sector are official reports published by the
governments of industrialized countries as well as international organizations.  Financial industry
associations and organizations in Member countries are also valuable sources of information.
65. As pointed out in WTO (1997), there is a relative shortage of reliable and detailed data on
financial services trade.  It was also pointed out that measurement of production and trade in financialservices was complex and difficult.  The main available sources of data are indicated in the
Bibliography below, but there is substantial room for improvement in both the coverage and quality of
the data collected.
66. Table 10 provides a list of Internet Homepages of Central Banks and Finance Ministries or
other regulatory agencies which could be identified.80  All major global financial institutions as well
as industry associations publish guides, newsletters or other periodicals on information concerning
recent developments in the financial sect or and financial markets around the world.81  A large number
of journals, magazines, newspapers, on-line news services and Internet sites specialize in financial
services.  A number of them are cited in the footnotes to this note and included in the Bibliography
below.
Issues for Discussion
Are there any other useful sources of information that delegates are aware of?  What types of
information are lacking in this sector, which may be required in future negotiations?  Are there any
other sources for useful data or statistical information?
                                                     
79 Indonesia, the Republic of Korea and Thailand ma y be examples.  Korea has announced its intention
to bind improved commitments in financial services after the conclusion of the negotiations.  Côte d'Ivoire ispreparing to submit an offer in financial services for the first time.
80In several Members, regulatory authority lies with sub-federal governmental agencies.  In such cases,
sources of information at the national or federal level are indicated regardless of their status as regulatory
bodies.  This list is incomplete, and will be updated as new sites are identified.
81 There is no complete list of such publications, but one example is UBS (1997).  Also see, for
example, Economics for Investment , American Express Bank Ltd., November 1998 and other issues.S/C/W/72
Page 19
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Barfield, Claude E. ed. (1996).  International Fi nancial Markets - Harmonization versus Competition,
The AEI Press, Washington, D.C.
Bedore, James (1995).  Financial Services:  An Overview of the World Trade Organization's
Negotiations; Industry, Trade, and Technology Review, December 1995; USITC; Washington, D.C.
Bhagwati, Jagdish (1998).  The Capital Myth, Foreign Affairs, Vol. 77 No.3, May/June 1998, New
York.
BIS (1997).  Core Principles for Effective Banking Supervision, Basle Committee on Banking
Supervision, Bank for International Settlements, Basle.
BIS (1998).  68th Annual Report, BIS, Basle.
British Invisibles (1998).  Opening Markets for Financial Services – The BI Guide to the Financial
Services Agreement in the World Trade Organization, British Invisibles, London.
Dobson, Wendy and Pierre Jacquet (1998).  Financial Services Liberalization in the WTO, Institute
for International Economics, Washington D.C.
Edey, Malcolm and Ketil Hviding (1995).  An Asse ssment of Financial Reform in OECD Countries,
OECD Economic Studies, No.25, 1995/II, OECD, Paris.
Essinger, James (1998).  The Virtual Banking Revolution, International Thomson Business Press,
London.
European Commission (1996).  Report on United States Barriers to Trade and Investment 1996,
European Commission, Brussels.
European Commission (1997).  Panorama of EU Industry 97, European Commission, Brussels.
Hindle, Tim (1997).  The Impact of Information Te chnology on Financial Services in Pocket Finance,
The Economist Books, London.
ILO (1998).  World Employment Report 1998- 99, International Labour Office, Geneva.
ILO (1998a).  The Social Impact of  the Asian Financial Crisis, Technical Report for Discussion at the
High-Level Tripartite Meeting, ILO Regional Office  for Asia and the Pacific, Bangkok, downloaded
from http://www.ilo.org.
IMF (1998).  World Economic Outlook - May 1998, International Monetary Fund, Washington, D.C.
IMF (1998a).  International Capital Markets September 1998, IMF, Washington, D.C.
IMF (1998b).  World Economic Outlook – October 1998, IMF, Washington, D.C.
Industrial Structure Council, Japan (1998).  1998 Report on the WTO Consistency of Trade Policies
by Major Trading Partners, Industrial Structure Council, Ministry of International Trade and Industry,Tokyo.
IOSCO (1998).  Causes, Effects and Regulatory Im plications of Financial and Economic Turbulence
in Emerging Markets – Interim Report, Emerging  Market Committee, International Organization of
Securities Commissions, Montreal.
Kampf, Roger (1995).  A Step in the Right Direction:  The Interim Deal on Financial Services in the
GATS, International Trade Law and Regulation, Vol. 1 Issue 5, November 1995, Sweet & Maxwell,
Oxford.
Kampf, Roger (1997).  Liberalization of Financial Services in the GATS and Domestic Regulation,
International Trade Law and Regulation, Vol. 3 Issue 5, October 1997, Sweet & Maxwell, Oxford.S/C/W/72
Page 20
Kampf, Roger (1998).  Financial Services in the WTO:  Third Time Lucky, International Trade Law
and Regulation, Vol. 4 Issue 3, July 1998, Sweet & Maxwell, Oxford.
Keren, Vered (1997).  La Bancassurance, Que sais-je?, Presses Universitaires de France, Paris.
Key, Sydney J. (1997).  Financial Services in the uruguay Round and the WTO, Group of Thirty
Occasional Paper 54, Washington, D.C.
Kono, Masamichi and Ludger Schuknecht (1998).  Financial Services Trade, Capital Flows, and
Financial Stability, WTO Staff Working Paper ERAD-98-12, WTO, Geneva.
Krugman, Paul (1998).  An Open Letter to Prime Minister Mahathir from Paul Krugman, Fortune
Investor, 1 September 1998, downloaded from http://www.pathfinder.com/fortune/investor/.
Mattoo, Aaditya (1998).  Financial Services and the WTO:  Liberalization in the Developing and
Transition Economies, WTO mimeo, Geneva.
OECD (1997).  Regulatory Reform in the Fina ncial Services Industry, The OECD Report on
Regulatory Reform, Volume 1:  Sectoral Studies, Chapter 2, OECD, Paris.
Pomeroy, Glenn (1998).  The Marketing of Insu rance over the Internet, National Association of
Insurance Commissioners, Paper presented at the IAIS Fifth Annual Meeting, Cancún, Mexico.
Soros, George (1998).  Testimony of George Soros to the U.S. House of Representatives, Committee
on Banking and Financial Services, 15 Sept ember 1998, Washington, D.C., downloaded from
http://www.house.gov.
Sorsa, Piritta (1997).  The GATS Agreement on Fina ncial Services – A Modest Start to Multilateral
Liberalization, IMF Working Paper WP/97/55, IMF, Washington, D.C.
Summers, Laurence H. (1998).  Building an International Financial Architecture for the 21st Century,
Remarks to the Cato Institute, Treasury News, 22 October 1998, U.S. Department of the Treasury,
Washigton, D.C.
UBS (1997).  The UBS Guide to the Emerging Ma rkets, Union Bank of Switzerland, Bloomsbury
Publishing, London.
UNCTAD (1998).  World Investment Report 1998 Tr ends and Determinants, United Nations, New
York and Geneva.
UNCTAD (1998a).  Trade and Development Report  1998, United Nations, New York and Geneva.
United Nations (1998).  Central Product Classificati on (CPC) Version 1.0, Statistical Papers, Series M
No.77, Ver.1.0, United Nations, New York.
U.S. Department of Commerce (1998).  The Em erging Digital Economy, U.S. Department of
Commerce, Washington, D.C.
USITC (1998).  Recent Trends in U.S. Services Tr ade, 1998 Annual Report, U.S. International Trade
Commission, Washington, D.C.
USTR (1998).  National Trade Estimate 1998, Office of the United States Trade Representative,
Washington, D.C.
U.S. Treasury (1994).  National Treatment Study, U. S. Department of the Treasury, Washington, D.C.
White (1996).  International Agreements in the Ar ea of Banking and Finance:  Accomplishments and
Outstanding Issues, BIS Working Paper No.38, BIS, Basle.
WTO (1996).  Trade Policy Review - United States 1996, World Trade Organization, Geneva.
WTO (1997).  Opening Markets in Financial Services and the Role of the GATS, WTO Special
Studies, WTO, Geneva.
WTO (1997a).  Annual Report 1997, WTO, Geneva.S/C/W/72
Page 21
WTO (1998).  Electronic Commerce and the Role of the WTO, WTO Special Studies 2, WTO,
Geneva.
WTO (1998a).  Trade Policy Review - Japan 1998, WTO, Geneva.S/C/W/72
Page 22
Table 1: Share of Employment in Financial Services
(In per cent of total employment)
COUNTRY 1970 1980 1985 1990 1995
Canadaa2.4 2.7 2.9 3.0 3.2
Franceb1.8 2.6 2.9 2.8 2.7
Germany
(former federalrepublic)2.2 2.8 3.0 3.0 3.3
Japan 2.4 3.0 3.2 3.3 3.1
Singaporec-- 2.7 -- -- 5.0
Switzerlandd-- -- 4.6 4.8 5.3
United
Kingdom-- 3.0 3.5 4.6 4.3
United Statese3.8 4.4 4.7 4.8 4.7
Source: OECD, Services: Statistics on Value Added and Employment, 1997; WTO, Opening Markets in
Financial Services and the Role of the GATS, 1997.
a 1992 instead of 1996.b 1996 instead of 1995.
c 1978 instead of 1980.d 1994 instead of 1996.
e 1994 instead of 1996.
Table 2:  Share of Value-Added in Financial Services
(In per cent of GDP)
COUNTRY 1970 1980 1985 1990 1995
Industrialized Countries:
Canada 2.2 1.8 2.0 2.8 2.5
Francea3.7 4.4 4.3 3.5 3.2
Germanyb3.2 4.5 5.5 4.8 5.5
Japanc4.3 4.5 5.5 4.8 5.2
Switzerlandd-- -- 10.4 10.3 13.3
United Statese4.0 4.8 5.5 6.6 6.6
Developing Countries:
Colombiaf-- -- -- 2.9 2.9
Ghanag5.5 -- 8.7 9.2 --
Hong Kong (China) -- 6.9 6.1 6.6 9.4
Mauritiush-- -- -- 4.4 5.2
SingaporeI-- 5.0 -- -- 12.0
Sri Lankaj-- -- -- 4.6 6.8
Thailandk9- - - - - - 4 . 0 7 . 8
Source: OECD, Services: Statistics on Value Added and Employment, 1997; WTO, Opening Markets in
Financial Services and the Role of the GATS, 1997.
a 1996 instead of 1995; Excludes services auxiliary to finance and insurance.
b Figures until 1990 refer to the former Federal Republic of Germany.
c Figure for 1995 excludes insurance services.
d 1993 instead of 1995.
e 1994 instead of 1995.
f 1992 instead of 1990; 1994 instead of 1995.
g 1971 instead of 1970; 1983 instead of 1985; includes business services.
h 1987 and 1993 respectively; includes business services.
i 1978 instead of 1980.
j 1994 instead of 1995; includes real estate services.
k Excludes insurance services.S/C/W/72
Page 23
Table 3: Insurance Premiums as Percentages of GDP
(Direct gross premiums)
Country 1995 1996
Life Non-life Total Life Non-life Total
Luxembourg 21 2.9 23.9 18.1 3.2 21.3
Korea 9.6 2.9 12.5 9.5 3.3 12.8
United Kingdom26.6 4.6 11.2 7.5 4.6 12.1
Switzerland 6.7 3.7 10.4 7.5 3.7 11.2
United States 3.9 6.1 10 4 5.9 9.9
Ireland 4.6 3.8 8.5 5.4 3.9 9.3
Netherlands21.3 3.8 8.3 5 4.2 9.2
France 5.5 3.1 8.6 6 3.1 9.1
Japan 6.4 2.2 8.6 5.9 2.2 8.1
Australia14.4 3.5 7.9 4.1 3.6 7.7
Germany 2.7 3.9 6.6 2.8 3.9 6.7
Denmark 3.3 2.6 6 3.9 2.6 6.5
Austria 2 3.5 5.5 2.7 3.5 6.2
Sweden 3.3 2.2 5.5 3.6 2.1 5.7
Belgium 2.3 3.1 5.4 2.5 3 5.5
Portugal 2.1 2.7 4.8 2.5 2.8 5.3
Spain 2 2.8 4.8 2.2 2.8 5
Canada 2.8 2 4.8 1.8 2.8 4.6
Norway 2 2.6 4.6 1.9 2.5 4.4
Finland 1.3 2.1 3.4 2.1 2 4.1
Italy 1.3 2.2 3.5 1.4 2.2 3.6
Iceland 0.1 2.9 3 0.1 2.8 2.9
Czech Republic 0.8 2 2.7 0.7 2 2.7
New Zealand21.1 1.6 2.7 1.4 1.2 2.6
Hungary 0.7 1.7 2.4 0.7 1.6 2.3
Poland30.5 1.4 2 0.7 1.6 2.3
Greece20.8 0.8 1.7 0.8 0.9 1.7
Mexico 0.5 0.9 1.3 0.4 0.8 1.2
Turkey 0.1 0.7 0.8 0.1 0.7 0.8
OECD 4.4 3.8 8.2 4.3 3.8 8.1
EU15 3.6 3.3 6.9 3.9 3.3 7.2
Source: OECD, Insurance Statistics Yearbook, 1998.
1 Net written premiums basis.
2 Net written premiums basis for 1995.
3 Total gross premiums basis.S/C/W/72
Page 24
Table 4:  Cross-border Trade in Financial Services - Receipts and Expenditure
(Billions of US dollars)
COUNTRY 1985 1990 1995 1996
Receipts  (Exports)
Austria 0.3 0.7 2.5 3.1
Belgium-Luxembourg 0.6 4.9 5.1 5.2
France ... 11.1 17.4 8.1
Germany 0.3 4.5 3.7 6.0
Japan 0.0 0.1 0.6 3.3
Singapore 0.1 0.1 0.4 0.5
Switzerland 1.8 4.2 6.9 7.7
United Kingdom2 7.3 6.1 9.1 8.9
United States 3.0 5.0 8.4 10.2
Expenditure  (Imports)
Austria 0.3 0.6 3.1 3.5
Belgium-Luxembourg 0.6 3.8 3.6 3.7
France ... 11.4 16.4 8.2
Germany 0.2 4.8 2.0 3.3
Japan 0.5 1.4 3.0 4.9
Singapore 0.1 0.8 1.0 1.0
Switzerland 0.1 0.2 0.2 0.2
United Kingdoma0.4 0.7 0.7 0.8
United States 2.5 4.4 7.8 7.6
Source:  IMF, Balance-of-payments Statistics Yearbook, Part I, 1997;  WTO, Opening Markets in Financial
Services and the Role of the GATS, 1997.
a 1986 instead of 1985 .S/C/W/72
Page 25
Table 5: Financial Services: US, Canada and EU Cross-Border Exports, Imports and Trade Balance,
1993-96
(Billions of US dollars)
United States Canada European Uniona
Year Exports Imports Balance Exports Imports Balance Exports Imports Balance
b
1997
I n s u r a n c e 2 . 6 4 . 8 - 2 . 2 . .. .. .. .. .. .
Other Financial
Services1 0 . 1 4 . 1 6. .. .. .. .. .. .
Total Trade Balance 3.8
1996
Insurance 2.1 4.4 -2.3 4 4.6 -0.6 .. .. ..
Other Financial
Services8 3.2 4.8 1.3 1.8 -0.5 .. .. ..
Total Trade Balance 2.5 -1.1
1995
Insurance 1.4 5.4 -4 3.7 4.4 -0.7 10.5 7.5 1.4
Other Financial
Services7 2.5 4.5 1.1 1.5 -0.4 12.2 8.2 7.5
Total Trade Balance 0.5 -1.1 8.9
1994
Insurance 1.7 4 -2.3 3.4 4 -0.6 9.8 6.8 1.92
Other Financial
Services5.8 1.7 4.1 1.1 1.6 -0.5 11.8 8.4 6.6
Total Trade Balance 1.8 -1.1 8.5
1993
Insurance 1 3.1 -2.1 2.8 3.1 -0.3 8.6 6.7 0.4
Other Financial
Services5 1.4 3.6 0.9 1.3 -0.4 10 6.8 6.5
Total Trade Balance 1.5 -0.7 6.9
Source: U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Economic Analysis, Survey of Current Business , Sept. 1993,
Sept. 1995, Nov. 1996 and Oct. 1997 issues;
Eurostat, International Trade in Services EU ,1986-95, 1997;
Statistics Canada, Canada's International Trade in Services , 1996.
aData converted from ECU to US$.
bNet balance of EU15 trade with the world.  The figures do not correspond to the calculated differences between
exports and imports, due to asymmetries in the data for intra-EU trade.
.. Data not available.S/C/W/72
Page 26
Table 6: Financial S ervices Transactionsa by Majority-Owned Affiliates: U.S. Sales, Purchases and
Balance
(Billions of US dollars)
1995 Sales Purchases Balance
Insurance 35 57 -22
Other Financial Servicesb13.6 6.8 6.8
Total Trade Balance .. .. -15.2
1994
Insurance 31.5 48.8 -17.3
Other Financial Servicesb.. 6.3 ..
Total Trade Balance
1993
Insurance 27.6 44.3 -16.7
Other Financial Servicesb.. 6.2 ..
Total Trade Balance
1992
Insurance 25.3 26 -0.7
Other Financial Servicesb.. 5.3 ..
Total Trade Balance
1991
Insurance .. .. ..
Other Financial Servicesb4.9 5 -0.1
Total Trade Balance
Source: U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Economic Analysis, Survey of Current Business , Sept. 1993,
Sept. 1995, Nov. 1996 and Oct. 1997 issues.
a Affiliate transactions entail sales by foreign affiliates of US firms and purchases  from US affiliates of foreign
firms.
b Banking (other than deposit-taking and lending activities) and Securities services.
.. Data not availableS/C/W/72
Page 27
Table 7A:  Selected Indicators of World FDI
(Billions of US dollars)
Value at current prices
Item 1996 1997
FDI Inflows 338 400
FDI Outflows 333 424
Table 7B:  Regional Distribution of FDI Inflows and Outflows, 1994-1997
(In percentage points of world FDI)
Inflows (%) Outflows (%)
Region/Country 1994 1995 1996 1997 1994 1995 1996 1997
Developed countries 58.2 63.9 57.9 58.2 85 86.9 85.1 84.8
Western Europe 32.3 37.1 29.6 28.7 47 49.4 50.6 46.2
US 18.6 17.7 22.6 22.7 25.8 26.1 22.5 27
Japan 0.4 .. 0.1 0.8 6.4 6.4 7 6.1
All developing
countries39.3 31.9 38.5 37.2 15 12.9 14.8 14.4
Source: Financial Times , 11 November 1998.  Data from World Investment Report   1998 Trends and
Determinants , UNCTAD, 1998.S/C/W/72
Page 28
Source : OECD (1998), Insurance Statistics YearbookChart 1a: Foreign Market Share in Life Insurance Services, OECD Countries, 1996
0102030405060708090100
Foreign Market ShareS/C/W/72
Page 29 Source : OECD (1998), Insurance Statistics YearbookChart 1b: Foreign Market Share in Non-Life Insurance Services, OECD Countries, 1996 
0102030405060708090100
Hungar
y
Canad
a
Austria
Aust
rali
aLuxembour
g
De
nm
ark
Sp
ain
Netherlands
Norway
Portugal
Germany
United 
States
Turkey
Mexi
co
Icel
and
Japan
Pola
nd
Kor
ea
Foreign Market ShareS/C/W/72
Page 30
Table 8: Number of Banking Entities from 61 Developing and Transition Economies in Selected OECD
Host Countries, 1996
Host country Number of foreign banking entities Foreign banking entities
per home economy
United States 171 34 5
United Kingdom 153 46 3.3
France 46 25 1.8
Germany 36 19 1.9
Japan 35 11 3.2
Luxembourg 16 8 2
Netherlands 14 8 1.8
Switzerland 12 8 1.5
Belgium 9 6 1.5
Australia 9 5 1.8
A u s t r i a 771
S p a i n 751 . 4
I t a l y 551
Greece 3 3 1
Othera111
Source: UNCTAD (1998), World Investment Report 1998: Trends and Determinants , 1998.
a Within this category, Portugal has one branch from Brazil; while Denmark, Finland, Ireland and Sweden have
no entities at all.S/C/W/72
Page 31Table 9: Financial Services: Su mmary of Specific Commitments
Countries Insurance Banking Securities Other
Life Non life Reinsu-
ranceInterme-
diationDeposits Lending Trading in
For. Ex.Trading in
derivativesTrading in
SecuritiesUnder-
writingAsset
managementFinancial
Information
Angola X X
Antigua and
 BarbudaX
Argentina X X X X X X X X X X X
A u s t r a l i a X X XXXXX X XX X X
A u s t r i a X X XXXXX X XX X X
B a h r a i n X X XXXXX X XX X X
Barbados X
Benin X X
Bolivia X X X X X X X X X
Brazil X X X X X X X X X X
Brunei
DarussalamXX X X X
Bulgaria X X X X X X X X X X
C a n a d a X X XXXXX X XX X X
Chile X X X X X X X X
Colombia X X X X X X X X X X
Costa Rica X X X
C u b a X X XXXXX X XX X X
Cyprus X X X X X X X
Czech
RepublicX X XXXXX XX X X
Dominica X
Dominican
RepublicX X XXXX X X
E c u a d o r X X XXXXX X X X X
E g y p t X X XXXXX XX X
El Salvador X X X X X
European
CommunityX X XXXXX X XX X X
F i n l a n d X X XXXXX X XX X X
Gabon X X X X X X X X
G a m b i a X X XXX X XX X X
G h a n a X X X XXX X XX X XS/C/W/72
Page 32Countries Insurance Banking Securities Other
Life Non life Reinsu-
ranceInterme-
diationDeposits Lending Trading in
For. Ex.Trading in
derivativesTrading in
SecuritiesUnder-
writingAsset
managementFinancial
Information
Grenada X
Guatemala X X
Guyana X X X X X
Haiti X X X X X
Honduras X X X X X X
Hong Kong X X X X X X X X X X X X
H u n g a r y X X XXXXX X XX X X
Iceland X X X X X X X X X X X X
I n d i a X XXXXX XX X
I n d o n e s i a X X XXXXX XX X
I s r a e l X X XXXXX XX X X
Jamaica X X X X X X X
J a p a n X X XXXXX X XX X X
Kenya X X X X X X X X
K o r e a  R P X X XXXXX XX X
K u w a i t XXX X XX X X
Kyrgyz
RepublicX X XXXXX X XX X X
L a t v i a X X XXXXX X XX X X
L e s o t h o X X X XXX X
Liechtenstein X X X X X X X X X X X X
Macau X X X X X X X X X X X X
M a l a w i XXX X XX X X
M a l a y s i a X X XXXXX X XX X
M a l t a X X XXXX X
M a u r i t i u s X X XXXXX XX X
M e x i c o X X XXXXX XX X
Mongolia X X X X X X X X X X X
Morocco X X X X X X X X
M o z a m b i q u e XXX X XX X X
New Zealand X X X X X X X X X X X X
N i c a r a g u aX X XXXXX
N i g e r i a X X XXXXX X X X
N o r w a y X X XXXXX X XX X X
P a k i s t a n X X X XXX XX X XS/C/W/72
Page 33Countries Insurance Banking Securities Other
Life Non life Reinsu-
ranceInterme-
diationDeposits Lending Trading in
For. Ex.Trading in
derivativesTrading in
SecuritiesUnder-
writingAsset
managementFinancial
Information
P a n a m a X X X XXX X XX X X
Papua New
GuineaXXX X
Paraguay X X X X X
P e r u X X X XXX X XX X X
Philippines X X X X X X X X X X X X
P o l a n d X X XXXX XX X X
Q a t a r X XXXXX X X
Romania X X X X X X X X X X
Santa Lucia X
Saint Vinc. &
Gren.X
Senegal X X X X X X
Sierra Leone X X X X X X X X X X X X
Singapore X X X X X X X X X X X X
Slovak
RepublicX X XXXXX XX X X
S l o v e n i a X X XXXXX X XX X X
Solomon
IslandsX X XXXXX X XX X X
S o u t h  A f r i c a X X XXXXX X XX X X
Sri Lanka X X X X X X X X X X X
S w e d e n X X XXXXX X XX X X
S w i t z e r l a n d X X XXXXX X XX X X
Thailand X X X X X X X X X X
Trinidad &
TobagoX
Tunisia X X X X X X X X X
T u r k e y X X XXXXX X XX X X
United Arab
EmiratesXXX X XX X X
Uruguay X X X
U S A X X XXXXX X XX X X
Venezuela X X X X X X X X X
Zimbabwe X X X X
T o t a l 6 9 7 3 7 85 78 28 36 2 4 4 6 86 3 6 3 5 8S/C/W/72
Page 34
Table 10: Web-site Addresses for Central Banks, Fina nce Ministries and Other Regulatory Agencies and
International Organizations
Country Central Bank Web Addresses Finance Ministries and Other
Regulatory Agencies
Argentina www.bcra.gov.ar www.mecon.ar
Australia www.rba.gov.au www.dofa.gov.au
Austria www.oenb.co.at/oenb
Bahrain www.bma.gov.bh
Belgium www.bnb.be
Bolivia www.bcb.gov.bo
Brazil www.bcb.gov.br www.fazenda.gov.br
Canada www.bank-banque-canada.ca www.fin.gc.ca
Chile www.bcentral.cl
Colombia www.banrep.gov.co
Costa Rica www.bccr.fi.cr
Cyprus www.centralbank.gov.cy
Czech Republic www.cnb.cz
Denmark www.nationalbanken.dk/uk www.fm.dk
Ecuador www.bce.fin.ec
El Salvador www.bcr.gob.sv
EU (European Central Bank &European Commission)www.ecb.int www.europa.eu.int
Finland www.bof.fi www.vn.fi/vn/vm/svenska/finmin
France www.banque-france.fr www.finances.gouv.fr
Germany www.bundesbank.de www.bundesfinanzministerium.de
Guatemala www.banguat.gob.gt
Hong Kong www.info.gov.hk/hkma www.info.gov.hk/hkma
Hungary www.mnb.hu
Iceland www.sedlabanki.is
India www.reservebank.com www.nic.in/finmin/intro.htm
Indonesia www.bi.go.id
Israel bankisrael.gov.il www.mof.gov.il
Italy www.bancaditalia.it www.finanze.it
Jamaica www.boj.org.jm
Japan www.boj.or.jp www.mof.go.jp
Korea www.bok.or.kr www.mofe.go.kr
Latvia www.bank.lv
Luxembourg www.bcl.lu
Malaysia www.bnm.gov.my www.treasury.gov.my
Mauritiius www.bankofmauritius.co.uk
Mexico www.banxico.org.mx www.shcp.gob.mx
Netherlands www.dnb.nl
New Zealand www.rbnz.govt.nz www.treasury.govt.nz
Nicaragua www.bcn.gob.ni
Norway www.norges-bank.no
Peru www.bcrp.gob.pe
Philippines finlink.mozcom.com
Portugal www.bportugal.pt www.pcm.gov.pt
Singapore www.mas.gov.sg www.gov.sg/mofS/C/W/72
Page 35
Country Central Bank Web Addresses Finance Ministries and Other
Regulatory Agencies
Slovenia www.bsi.si
South Africa www.resbank.co.za
Spain www.bde.es
Sri Lanka www.lanka.net/centralbank
Sweden www.riksbank.se
Switzerland www.snb.ch www.mof.go.ch
Tanzania www.bot-tz.org
Thailand www.bot.or.th
Tunisia www.bct.gov.tn
Turkey www.tcmb.gov.tr
United Kingdom www.bankofengland.co.uk www.hm-treasury.gov.uk
United States www.bog.frb.fed.us
www.ny.frb.orgwww.ustr.gov
www.naic.orgwww.ustreas.gov
www.sec.gov
Venezuela www.bcv.org.ve
International Organization Web Address
APEC www.apecsec.org.sg
ASEAN www.asean.or.id
www.aseansec.or
Asian Development Bank www.asiandevbank.org
Bank of InternationalSettlementswww.bis.org
Caribbean Community www.caricom.org
European Bank for
Reconstruction andDevelopmentwww.ebrd.com
Inter-American Development
 Bankwww.idb.org
International Monetary Fund www.imf.org
International Organization of
 Securities Commissionswww.iosco.org
NAFTA www.nafta.net
Organisation of American
 States (OAS)www.sice.oas.org
OECD www.oecd.org
Latin American Economic
System (SELA)www.sela.org
UNCTAD www.unctad.org
World Trade Organization www.wto.org
World Bank www.worldbank.int
________________