This paper examines the relation between bank charter value and risk taking. Using a sample of U.S. banks over the period 1990–2006, we find that the relation is U-shaped: as charter value increases, risk taking first decreases and then increases. This finding is robust across alternative...

This paper presents a model in which requiring banks to issue a proper amount of subordinated debt can constrain their risk taking both before and after debt issuance. The main idea is that the prospect of issuing debt motivates banks to invest in safe assets before debt issuance; holding such...