Uncertainty in economic environment leads economic agents to act cautiously. In this paper, we postulate that such uncertainty leads banks to charge higher interest rate on loans. Measuring aggregate country-level economic uncertainty with the World Uncertainty Index (WUI) and using a bank-level...

This study examines whether state-owned banks face political pressure and whether the improvement in political institutions alleviates this pressure. The theory of political benefits argues that politicians use state-owned banks for political purposes such as obtaining and maintaining political...

This paper is a contribution to ‘interest groups theory of financial development' based debate that trade- and capital-openness are helpful for financial development. We extend this debate by examining the impact of trade- and capital-openness on net interest margins (rents), gross loan ratios...

Using news-based government economic policy uncertainty (EPU) index of Baker et al. (2016) and bank-level data from 17 countries over the period 1998-2012, we find that government economic policy uncertainty has significant positive association with interest rates on bank gross loans....

This study examines the determinants of financial intermediation costs of banks in ten Emerging Economies (EEs) in the period 2000-2018 using panel data of 1335 banks. Empirically, this study applies the single-stage dealership model and its extensions by introducing new bank and country-level...

In response to the Global Financial Crisis (GFC) of 2007-2009, stringent capital requirements in the form of Basel III Accord have been implemented for the banking sector across the globe. Critics argue that banks may face difficulty in raising costly equity and may either decrease loans or...