Bank intermediated finance has been cited frequently as the preferred means for channeling funds from savers to firms. Germany is the prototypical economy where universal banks allegedly exert substantial influence over firms. Despite frequent assertions about the considerable power of German...

The question of whether or not mergers and acquisitions have helped to enhancebanks’ efficiency and profitability has not yet been conclusively resolved in theliterature. We argue that this is partly due to the severe methodological problemsinvolved. In this study, we analyze the effect of...

In the recent theoretical literature on lending risk, the coordination problem in multi-creditor relationships have been analyzed extensively. We address this topic empirically, relying on a unique panel data set that includes detailed credit-file information on distressed lending relationships...

This paper aims at explaining the differences in valuation of banking firms in Russia through theimpact of selected elements of corporate governance. We rely upon value-based managementtheory to test the hypothesis that expenses on corporate governance system create shareholdervalue. The price...

Building on the ‘law and economics’ literature, this paper analyses corporategovernance implications of debt financing in an environment where a dominant owner isable to extract ex ante ‘private benefits of control’. Ownership concentration may result inlower efficiency, measured as a...

This paper is the first to examine the determinants of acquisitions for the U.S. thrift industry during a period of market liberalization and widespread takeover activity, 1994 to 2000.(...)

Financial constraints are frictions that prevent firms from funding all desired investments, which might affect firm value and aggregate economic activity. We investigate whether and how bank governance, especially private vs. non-private bank ownership, affects financial constraints of small...

The purpose of this study is to extend the current understanding of business divestiture by investigating its potential for triggering strategic reorientation. A divestiture involving strategic reorientation is here denoted as a strategic business exit, otherwise it is a status...

Business groups in emerging markets perform better than unaffiliatedfirms. One explanation is that business groups substitute some functions ofmissing institutions, for example, enforcing contracts. We investigate thisby setting up a model where firms within the business group are connectedto...

Studies of public-private and foreign-domestic wage differentials face difficultiesdistinguishing ownership effects from correlated characteristics of workers and firms. Thispaper estimates these ownership differentials using linked employer-employee data (LEED)from Hungary containing 1.35mln...