For foreign bonds, the underwriting institutions are those that handle bond issues
in the respective countries in which such bonds are issued. For Eurobonds, a number of financial institutions in the United States, Western Europe, and Japan form international underwriting syndicates. The underwriting costs for Eurobonds are comparable to those for bond flotation in the U.S. domestic market. Although U.S. institutions once dominated the Eurobond scene, economic and financial strengths exhibited by some Western European (especially German) financial firms have led to an erosion in that dominance. Since 1986, a number of European firms have shared with U.S. firms the top positions in terms of acting as lead underwriters of Eurobond issues. However, U.S. investment banks continue
to dominate most other international security issuance markets—such as international
equity, medium-term note, syndicated loan, and commercial paper markets.
U.S. corporations account for well over half of the worldwide securities
issues made each year.
To raise funds through international bond issues, many MNCs establish their
own financial subsidiaries. Many U.S.-based MNCs, for example, have created
subsidiaries in the United States and Western Europe, especially in Luxembourg.
Such subsidiaries can be used to raise large amounts of funds in “one move,” the
funds being redistributed wherever MNCs need them. (Special tax rules applicable
to such subsidiaries also make them desirable to MNCs.)