The aim of this paper is to analyze the ownership and control structure of Spanish commercial banks during the period 1996-2004. Using the methodology of control chains our data shows that 97% of Spanish commercial banks have an ultimate controlling owner. In concrete, families are the main...

This paper analyzes the influence of financial leverage decisions, dividend payout policies and the ownership structure on the firm market value when companies either face, or do not face, profitable growth opportunities. We use a sample of 101 large non-financial publicly traded Spanish...

Using a sample of 18 industries from 18 OECD countries, an industry level analysis of the influence of the financial system's orientation (bank-oriented vs. market-oriented) on Ramp;D intensity is carried out. Our results, with OLS, GMM and VAR methodologies, show a positive relation between...

A firm's investment-cash flow sensitivity is often considered evidence of financial constraints, but such sensitivity may also stem from agency problems of free cash flows (managers overinvest). Close banking relationships are thought to ameliorate financing constraints and possibly agency...

We analyze the ability of the capital structure and the ownership structure as mechanisms of control of the managers of the firms and to reduce their accounting discretionary power for a sample of Chilean firms. Using earnings management and abnormal accruals as indicators of discretionary...

Compared to the Anglo-Saxon framework on which most of the financial research has focused, in many European corporate systems such as Spain, banks and other financial intermediaries are more important than capital markets. In addition to lending, banks usually own significant proportions of...

We test hypotheses about the structure of corporate debt ownership and the use of bank debt by firms in a civil-law country, Spain. We focus on bank debt effects in the presence of information asymmetries and agency costs, and on efficient versus inefficient firm liquidation. We find that the...

In this paper we focus on the conflict of interests among shareholders as a possible determinant of earnings management. Using a sample of 3,559 listed firms from the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, France, Spain, and Italy between 2008 and 2013, we analyse how the distribution of...

This paper analyzes the influence of financial decisions and ownership structure on firm value in function of whether companies have profitable growth opportunities for a sample of 182 listed Brazilian firms during the period 1995-2004. Concerning financial leverage, the results offer support...