This study investigates the effect of cultural distance on global bank linkages using country-pair data for the period 1990–2013. We followed Schwartz (2006) to measure cultural distance, and employed the number of bank pairs involved in cross-border syndicated lending from the source to target countries as a measure of bank linkages. We found that cultural distance has a negative association with bank linkages. This effect is stronger in countries featuring higher informational asymmetries, as represented by weaker institutions, higher uncertainty, or revolution shocks. Our results hold even when employing alternative measures of bank linkages and cultural distance, and when considering the potential endogeneity of cultural distance.

本研究使用1990-2013年期间的国家对数据调查了文化距离对全球银行联系的影响。我们遵循Schwartz（2006）来衡量文化距离，并采用从源头到目标国家的跨界银团贷款中涉及的银行对的数量来衡量银行之间的联系。我们发现，文化距离与银行联系之间存在负相关关系。在信息不对称性较高的国家，如机构薄弱，不确定性较高或受到革命冲击的国家，这种影响会更大。即使采用银行联系和文化距离的替代措施，以及考虑文化距离的潜在内生性，我们的结果仍然成立。