We estimate the structural parameters of a quantitative banking model featuring maturity transformation and endogenous failures in the presence of undiversifiable background risk and regulatory constraints. Pervasive balance sheet cross-sectional heterogeneity can be rationalized with...

Using an intertemporal model of asset pricing under asymmetric information, we demonstrate how public ratings about the quality of a risky asset could enhance information efficiency, albeit at a cost of higher asset price volatility. The analysis also draws implications for the use of ratings...

This paper studies the impact of bank-specific financial indicators and macroeconomic variables on bank senior unsecured ratings by Moody’s. Controlling for bank financial characteristics, we find significant evidence of procyclicality in bank ratings stemming from lagged interaction effects...

This paper considers a model of information-based bank runs where a central bank sets its lender of last resort (LOLR) policy in order to maximize welfare. To mitigate the risks associated with overinvestment by the banking sector, the central bank sets prudential liquidity requirements for the...

This article discusses the out-of-court restructuring of the contractual obligations of a financially distressed firm, under conditions of asymmetric information among the firm’s creditors and in situations where a creditor bank makes concessions conditional on other creditors’ actions. I...

We find evidence that banks target return on equity (RoE) and make active use of leverage to affect the speed of adjustment towards RoE targets. That holds for both the pre- and post-2007 periods and especially for banks that tend to operate with above median leverage among their peer group. As...

I develop a heterogenous agent life-cycle model that examines the effects of the US personal bankruptcy law on bankruptcy filings and welfare. In addition to facing uncertainty over their labor income, agents also face wealth shocks that stem from unexpected changes in family composition or from...

Every year 400,000 entrepreneurs fail and 60,000 file for personal bankruptcy. The option to declare bankruptcy provides entrepreneurs with insurance against the financial consequences of business failures. However, it comes at the cost of worsened credit market conditions. In this paper, we...

This paper examines the effects of the Chapter 7 wealth exemption level on welfare, bankruptcy filings, debt, and on asset holdings. I build a heterogeneous agent life cycle model which features uninsurable income and expense shocks. Moreover, households can borrow and save simultaneously. When...