For banks this means refocusing their business models and taking advantage information technology developments to improve risk management and lower operating costs.
These motives cannot be simply reduced to cost aspects, and particularly not only to labour costs, however important they may be.9 There are also tax considerations and regulatory differences to consider. 5  See, for example, Richard Reichel, Ökonomische Theorie der internationalen Wettbewerbsfähigkeit von Volkswirtschaften, Wiesbaden 2002.