Current Developments in the Regulation of International Banking

International banking has grown dramatically in the 1970s. Expanded operations by foreign banks in the United States and by U.S. banks abroad have prompted reviews and revisions of federal regulation of this important activity. After briefly describing the growth of international banking, this article examines the three major current developments that are changing or may change U.S. regulation of international banking and shape its evolution in the 1980s. Foremost among these developments is the International Banking Act of 1978 (IBA), which makes many regulation changes, delegates to various government units the authority to make additional changes, and directs the study of still other possible legislative changes. The other two developments that may bring change to U.S. regulation of international banking include the recently extensive foreign efforts to purchase U.S. banks and the New York Clearing House Association proposal to permit special International Banking Facilities in the United States.