Globalization has changed the way countries interact along several dimensions. Financial integration and its underpinnings are probably among the most important. Although cross-border capital flows and external debt have been closely monitored, until recently little was known about the stocks of foreign assets and liabilities accumulated by various countries, especially in the developing world. In this respect, Lane and Milesi-Ferretti (2001, 2006) made an important contribution by assembling a comprehensive data set for 145 countries over the period 1970–2004.