We examine whether “imputed” interest rates obtained from bank financial statements are unbiased estimates of “offered” interest rates that the same banks report in surveys. We find evidence of a statistically significant amount of bias. However, the statistical bias that we document...

Using a novel dataset that allows us to trace the primary bank relationships of a sample of mostly unlisted firms, we explore which borrowers are able to benefit from foreign bank presence in emerging markets. Our results suggest that the limits to financial integration are less tight than the...

In this paper, I empirically explore the relation between bank mergers and the rigidity of banks’ deposit rates. I find that merging banks are more likely to change their deposit rates in the first months following a merger. However, in the long term, merging banks change their deposit rates...

We study the relationship between bank competition and stability for 145 countries over the period 1997–2010. We use three measures of bank competition, namely the Boone indicator, the Lerner and the adjusted Lerner indices, and two econometric methods. Our results show that bank competition...

This paper investigates the competitive aspects of multi-product banking operations. Extending Panzar and Rosse’s (1987) model to the case of a multi-product banking firm, we show that higher economies of scope in multi-product banking are associated with lower Panzar–Rosse measures of...

In this paper we propose a new test of the efficient structure (ES) hypothesis, which predicts that efficient firms come out ahead in competition and grow as a result. Our test has significant advantages over existing ones, because it is more direct, and can jointly test the so-called quiet-life...

Cost inefficiency of banks in many countries is quite high. Financial sector reforms in India are also aimed at improving efficiency, productivity and profitability of banks via increased competitiveness. An assessment based on a fairly general framework in the Indian context has found that cost...

This paper examines whether Asian banks are still prone to moral hazard in the aftermath of the 1997 Asian crisis. Using a sample of commercial banks from 12 Asian countries during the 2001–2007 period, our empirical findings highlight that greater market power in the banking market results in...

This paper rigorously investigates the determinants of bank competition for 146 countries over the sample period 1999–2011. The results employing both the Lerner index and the Boone indicator, reveal the distinctive characteristics of the competition drivers across different income groups of...

An evolutionary model of the bank size distribution is presented based on the exchange and creation of deposit money. In agreement with empirical results the derived size distribution is lognormal with a power law tail. The theory is based on the idea that the size distribution is the result of...