Net foreign assets of Dutch commercial banks, 1984–1990

Summary In many econometric models it is assumed that the amount of net foreign assets of the commercial banks is determined by the commercial banks themselves. In this article we show that it is more likely that net foreign assets are determined by the transactions of the private sector.The author thanks Jakob de Haan, Flip de Kam, Simon Kuipers, Elmer Sterken, Cees Sterks, Dick Zelhorst and an anonvmous referee for their valuable comments on an earlier version.