Thousands of new commercial banks have been chartered in the U.S. over the past two decades. This article documents how the financial characteristics of new banks evolve over time, develops a simple theory of why and when new banks fail, and tests the theory using a variety of methods.

This article examines some implications of the failure of three large Japanese banks in 1997 and 1998. The authors examine the response in the equity returns of surviving Japanese banks to the three failure announcements. In addition, they provide evidence on the clients of failed and surviving...

This article finds that, although the number of failed banks declined sharply after the passage of the FDIC Improvement Act (FDICIA) in 1991, losses to the FDIC as a percent of assets of failed banks actually increased. Only if adjustments are made both for large losses at a few larger outlier...

Losses from bank failures have significant adverse implications for bank stakeholders, as well as for the macroeconomy. This article examines the potential sources of such losses, in particular the losses that may occur after the date a bank is failed, and makes recommendations on how to...

Banking and currency crises have done severe economic damage in many countries in recent years. This article examines the causes and characteristics of these crises and the public policies intended to prevent them or mitigate their adverse consequences.

In the U.S., the insolvency resolution of most corporations is governed by the federal bankruptcy code and is administered by special bankruptcy courts. Most large corporate bankruptcies are resolved under Chapter 11 reorganization proceedings. However, commercial bank insolvencies are governed...