LOS ANGELES -- The Milken Institute today announced the launch of a new website: globalbanking.org, a one-of-a-kind platform for accessing information on banking systems and banking regulation worldwide. Using a graphic approach, the data platform helps explain and compare the banking systems and regulatory regimes of more than 200 countries.
It is designed to help policymakers make the most informed decisions possible, help academics, journalists and the public deepen their understanding of the issues and raise awareness of the factors that impact global banking. How restrictive are a country's banking regulations? How independent are the regulators? What are the size and structure of its financial system? Globalbanking.org helps provide answers to those questions and more.
The Milken Institute's globalbanking.org website aggregates proprietary data yet is open to all. The site's original data set builds on four surveys that the World Bank conducted with banking regulators in 180 countries. Milken Institute researchers then filled in the blanks, persuading some reticent government agencies to provide new data, and then made the information uniform and measurable. The result? A unique database that reveals facts, figures and the transparency of banking systems around the world.
"Never before has this kind of information been collected and presented in such an easy-to-use way," says Staci Warden, executive director of the Milken Institute's Center for Financial Markets. "We are confident that it will be a tremendous resource for anyone working in this area."
The features of globalbanking.org include:
• Easy-to-use data platform with data sets that users can download and include in their own research
• Interactive charts and maps highlighting the most interesting data points, which can be manipulated, downloaded, shared and embedded
• Current news, unbiased insights and videos from banking experts
• Reports and other resources on global banking
"We actively keep the site up-to-date and are adding new data sets from academics and practitioners around the world. We hope globalbanking.org will be a community-driven resource -- one interested parties both benefit from and contribute to," Warden said.