This paper studies relationship lending in a framework where the cost of switching banks measures the degree of banking competition. The relationship lender’s (insider bank’s) informational advantage creates a lock-in effect, which is at its height when the switching cost is infinitesimal....

Central securities depositories (CSDs) have opened mutual links, but most of them are seldom used. Why are idle links established? By allowing a foreign CSD to offer services through the link the domestic CSD invites competition. The domestic CSD can determine the cost efficiency of the rival by...

This paper presents a model on the demand for money market funds (MMFs). These funds are a very close substitute for M1 deposits, except that MMFs do not satisfy immediate transaction requirements. The demand for MMFs strengthens when the intended volume of transactions is low. A high interest...

This paper examines progressive changes in productivity of the European stock exchange industry using non-parametric frontier techniques. Within the framework of Malmquist indices, total factor productivity growth is decomposed into technological progress and technical efficiency change for a...

Payment systems are undergoing rapid and fundamental changes stimulated largely by technological progress especially distributed network technology and real-time processing. Internet and e-commerce will have a major impact on payment systems in the future. User demands and competition will speed...

This paper presents a model depicting cross-border payment systems as a mixed oligopoly. A private net settlement system that maximises profit competes with the central banks’ gross settlement system that maximises welfare. It may be optimal for the central bank system to encourage increased...

A model of banking competition is developed, in which diffusion of electronic banking (eg pc and phone banking) and nonbank competition (eg mutual funds, retail stores and insurance firms) are studied as factors that diminish the benefits of branch and ATM networks in terms of enhanced demand...

We find that firms with greater tax avoidance incur higher spreads when obtaining bank loans. This finding is robust in a battery of sensitivity analyses and in two quasi-experimental settings including the implementation of Financial Accounting Standards Board Interpretation No. 48 and the...

This paper examines what institutional and bank-specific factors determine bank stock price synchronicity. Using data on 37 countries from 1996–2007, we find that bank stocks are more aligned with the whole market (1) during the financial crisis; (2) in countries that have more credit provided...

We investigate the effects of credit ratings-contingent financial regulation on foreign bank lending behavior. We examine the sensitivity of international bank flows to debtor countries’ sovereign credit rating changes before and after the implementation of the Basel 2 risk-based capital...