International banking and financial market developments

This first quarterly review of the year by the BIS analyzes, among other issues, the changes that are happening in payment systems around the world, and how the speed of these changes and the potential for disruption have propelled payment systems to the top of policymakers' agendas. It has a section dedicated to the global retreat of correspondent banks, which notes that the number of correspondent banks fell by 20% between 2011 and 2018, even as the value of payments increased. The document notes how the retreat of correspondent banks might hurt financial inclusion, raise the cost of cross-border payments or drive them underground. Finally, the report investigates the economic impact of the coronavirus outbreak by comparing it with the SARS epidemic of early 2003 in terms of their relative effects on stock markets around the world.