By using a sample of bank loan renegotiations by European firms, I show that the renegotiation of financial contracts bears a certification value, while deeply changing the contractual features of the loan over time, to the benefit of shareholders. I find that amendments to financial covenants...

In continental Europe, banks are more and more replaced by non-bank institutional investors in the financing and control of firms. This must not imply a shift to arm's length finance, if these institutional investors develop relationships with firms similar to the traditional longterm bank-firm...

This study analyses the effect of board diversity (gender and nationality) on performance in banks. By making use of a sample of 159 banks in nine countries during the period 2004–2010, our empirical evidence shows that gender diversity increases bank performance, while national diversity...

At the European level - and even global – the prolonged economic and financial crisis was a challenge for the financial institutions, negatively affecting the banking system and beyond. The impact of the global crisis has affected gradually overwhelmingly the profitability of the banking...

The paper reviews and assesses our understanding of the notion of “market discipline†in corporate governance. It questions the wholesale appeal to this notion in policy discussion, which fails to provide an account of the underlying mechanisms in terms of theory and empirical...

Solid corporate governance of the financial institutions is of a vital concern not only to the institutions themselves but also for the entire financial system. After four years of financial turbulences, the issue of corporate governance is more important than never especially for financial...

The emerging economies in the South Asian region have embarked on a bold reform process to develop the banking sector. This development has improved the transparency and accountability of the banking sector because these countries focused on best practice corporate governance for banks. In view...

We investigate how borrowers’ corporate governance influences bank loan contracting terms in emerging markets and how this relation varies across countries with different country-level governance. We find that borrowers with stronger corporate governance obtain favorable contracting terms with...

The 2007/2008 global financial crisis has reignited the debate regarding the need for effective corporate governance (CG) through sound risk management and reporting practices. This paper, therefore, examines the crucial policy question of whether the quality of firm-level CG has any effect on...

Controlling for country-level governance, we investigate how firms' corporate governance influences financing constraints. Using firm-level corporate governance rankings across 14 emerging markets, we find that better corporate governance lowers the dependence of emerging market firms on...