Using a novel way to identify relationship and transaction banks, we study how banks' lending techniques affect funding to SMEs over the business cycle. For 21 countries we link the lending techniques that banks use in the direct vicinity of firms to these firms' credit constraints at two...

In this paper, we question whether there is a catch-up effect or announcement effect in Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) from the European Union (EU) to the ten EU accession countries. We study FDI outflows from the Netherlands, a small open economy with few historical ties to Eastern Europe, and...

Financial constraints and risk taking are two well-established determinants of firm performance, however, no research analyzes how these variables are connected in the context of a high risk environment. Using data from microfinance clients in Tanzania, we derive a novel financial constraints...

This paper investigates the benefits of banks' direct investment in foreign subsidiaries and branches for non-financial multinationals. The paper builds on the literature on international banks which has primarily focused on the implications for host countries, rather than for its international...

Intraday margin is a generally accepted risk management tool of central counterparties to cover increased risk exposure during the day. Central counterparties may call for intraday margin on a routine basis, but also in case of extreme price volatility or large changes in positions of clearing...

Drawing on the literature on organizational psychology, this paper discusses the potential of studying corporate culture and organizational behaviour for financial supervision. First, we discuss how corporate culture is often linked to long-term firm performance. From that perspective, factoring...

The continental European financial system distinghuishes itself from its American counterpart by the dominance of banks in the financing of nonfinancial companies. Only a fraction of the external capital need of the private sector is fulfilled directly, on the public capital market. Non-bank...

The current investigation examined the effects of internal and external supervisors (i.e., formally installed institutions that hold employees accountable for their actions) on employees' self-serving decisions. In two studies, it was found that internal supervisors reduced self-serving...

We examine whether Fitch support ratings of US banks depend on bank size. Using quarterly data for the period 2004:Q4 to 2012:Q4 and controlling for several factors that make large and small banks different, we find that bank size is positively related to support ratings. However, the effect is...

We study the capital structure dynamics of Central and Eastern European firms in order to get a better understanding of the quantitative and qualitative development of the financial systems in this region. The dynamic model we use endogenizes the target leverage as well as the adjustment speed...