This paper examines the association between institutional ownership and income smoothing through bank loan loss provisions for a sample of Japanese banks during the period 1991-1999. We find that as the percentage of institutional ownership of banks increases, income smoothing via loan loss...

This paper investigates Japanese bank managers' use of the discretionary component of loan loss provisions to manage earnings during the recession of the late 1990s. Although studies of US banks document that bank managers use loan loss provisions to smooth earnings, manage regulatory capital,...