We examine the effect of the short-selling ban in 2011 on Spanish stocks on the level of risk in the banking sector. Before the ban, short positions were found to be positive and significantly related to the creditworthiness of medium-sized banks, these being generally less internationally...

This paper builds upon the existing empirical literature on the factors behind financial stability, focusing on the role of monetary policy design. In particular, it analyzes a sample of 79 countries in the period 1970 to 1999 to evaluate the effect of the choice of the central bank objectives...

We identify the impact of short-term interest rates on credit risk-taking by analyzing a comprehensive credit register from Spain, a country where for the last twenty years monetary policy was mostly decided abroad. Discrete choice, within borrower comparison and duration analyses show that...

A common assumption in the academic literature is that franchise value plays a key role in limiting bank risk-taking. As market power is the primary source of franchise value, reduced competition in banking markets has been seen as promoting banking stability. We test this hypothesis using data...

This paper analyses the determinants of the default ratio associated to banking debt in Spanish non financial firms over the period 1992-2003. It studies the factors influencing firms' entering and exit processes in and out from the default status. Additionally, it explores the factors...

Spanish banks had to set aside a countercyclical loan loss provision during the period 2000 2004. The amount of such provision as well as the allowance accumulated had to be disclosed by banks. The former creates a natural experiment to test whether banks smooth earnings to mislead investors and...

This paper investigates the existence and determinants of interest rates dispersion in loans and deposits of Spanish banks. A unique feature of the research is that it covers a whole industry (thirty products and two hundred banks) from 1989 to 2003. We find that: i) interest rates dispersion is...

This paper finds strong empirical support of a positive, although quite lagged, relationship between rapid credit growth and loan losses. Moreover, it contains empirical evidence of more lenient credit terms during boom periods, both in terms of screening of borrowers and in collateral...

This paper reviews the impact of the global economic and financial crisis on two distinct emerging market regions: Central, Eastern and Southeastern Europe (CESEE) and Latin America. Similar to other emerging economies, both regions were initially surprisingly resilient as the crisis gathered...