Foreign bank regulation after BCCI

by Raj K. Bhala

The BCCI affair was the world's greatest financial fraud. It triggered a revolution in the domestic and international legal regimes governing foreign banks. Foreign Bank Regulation After BCCI is the first book to examine this legal revolution. The book treats not only the new U.S. laws and regulations governing foreign banks, but also the new international standards applicable to cross-border banking institutions. After carefully explaining the salient facts of the BCCI case and providing important background information on foreign banking in Part I, the book poignantly analyzes the legal revolution. "Good case, bad law" is the thesis of Foreign Bank Regulation After BCCI. Part II argues that new U.S. laws and regulations are an overreaction to the BCCI affair. Fearing "bad" foreign banks, congress and the Federal Reserve implemented rules that are protectionist, unilateralist, and nonresponsive. They make foreign bank entry into the U.S. far more difficult than ever before. The rules