We examine foreign intermediation activity in Japan during the so-called quot;lost decadequot; of the 1990s, contrasting the behavior of lending by foreign commercial banks and underwriting activity by foreign investment banks over that period. Foreign bank lending is shown to be sensitive to...

One of the primary motivations offered by the Bank of Japan (BOJ) for its quantitative easing program - whereby it maintained a current account balance target in excess of required reserves, effectively pegging short-term interest rates at zero - was to maintain credit extension by the troubled...

This paper analyzes the causes and consequences of offshore financial centers (OFCs). Since OFCs are likely to be tax havens and money launderers, they encourage bad behavior in source countries. Nevertheless, OFCs may also have unintended positive consequences for their neighbors, since they...

To mitigate the regulator losses associated with bank failures, efforts are usually made to dispose of failed bank assets quickly. However, this process usually precludes due diligence examination by acquiring banks, leading to problems of asymmetric information concerning asset quality. this...

We examine the determinants of Japanese regional bank decisions concerning pricing unrealized losses or gains to market. We also examine the impact of these decisions on the intensity of depositor discipline, in the form of the sensitivity of deposit growth to bank financial conditions. To...

We examine the pattern of price depreciation in Japanese land values subsequent to the 1990 stock market crash. While all land values fell heavily, the data indicate that Japanese commercial land values fell much more quickly than residential land values. Using an error-correction specification,...

This paper examines the impact of European Monetary Union (EMU) accession on bilateral Portuguese international borrowing patterns. Using a difference-in-differences methodology, I demonstrate that Portugal's accession to the EMU was accompanied by a change in its borrowing pattern in favor of...

Under the Japanese quot;main bankquot; relationship, a bank holds equity in a firm and plays a leading role in its decision-making and financing. This may leave a firm dependent on its main bank for financing due to its information advantage over other potential lenders. This dependency may be...

We examine the evidence in equity markets concerning bank regulatory policies in Japan from 1995 to 1999. Our results support the presence of information-based contagion in Japanese equity markets. When the failure of a bank of certain regulatory status was announced, it adversely affected...

Disclosure is widely regarded as a necessary condition for market discipline in a modern financial sector. However, the determinants of disclosure decisions are still unknown, particularly among banks. This paper investigates the determinants of disclosure by Japanese Shinkin banks in 1996 and...