The determinants of global bank lending: Evidence from bilateral cross- country data Uluc Aysun a* Ralf Hepp b a University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL, United States b Department of Economics, Fordham University, Bronx, NY, United States ______________________________________________________________________________ Abstract This paper finds that factors determined outside of a country are more closely related to the global bank loans it receives. These loans are more stable when global banks are less competitive and have a higher presence in the recipient country. We obtain our results by using bilateral lending data from 15 countries and a unique methodology to identify and compare the independent effects of external and internal factors. We identify theoretical mechanisms that can explain our empirical findings and draw more detailed inferences for competition and global bank presence by solving a simple model of global banking. JEL Classification: E44; F34; G15; G21 Keyword(s): Cross-country loans, global banks, competition, overlapping generations model. _________ * Corresponding author: University of Central Florida College of Business Administration, 4000 Central Florida Blvd., P.O. Box 161400, Orlando, FL 32816. Email: uaysun@bus.ucf.edu Tel: (+1) 530 574 3951. ______________________________________________________________________________