value and aggregate economic activity. We investigate whether and how bank governance, especially private vs. non …-private bank ownership, affects financial constraints of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). We focus on SMEs because they … are more opaque, bank-dependent and riskier than large firms. Given the significant differences between private and non …

Bank intermediated finance has been cited frequently as the preferred means for channeling funds from savers to firms … assertions about the considerable power of German banks and the advantages of a bank relation, empirical support is mixed. With a … unique dataset and a focus on the fragility/sturdiness of inferences, this paper evaluates German bank influence in terms of …

the loss given default on bank loans and corporate bonds, and seeks to empirically explain this critical relationship.(...) …

problemsinvolved. In this study, we analyze the effect of German bank mergers in the period1995-2000 on banks’ profitability and cost … efficiency. Comparing ourresults with those obtained from a naive performance comparison of merging andnon-merging banks …

Board of Directors); and availability of external credit ratings from the world’s leading ratingagencies. We test our …. Firstly, we find out which factors are statisticallysignificant and relevant to a bank’s selling price. Secondly, a least …