We investigate whether societal-level social capital enjoyed by firms affects their cost of bank loans. Employing a county-level measure of societal-level social capital, we find that firms with higher social capital are associated with lower loan spreads and the effect is robust after...

We examine the impact of SFAS 133, Accounting for Derivative Instruments and Hedging Activities, on the reporting behavior of commercial banks and the informativeness of their financial statements. We argue that, because mandatory recognition of hedge ineffectiveness under SFAS 133 reduced...

The Basel III Accord tightens capital adequacy requirements for banks by increasing the minimum Tier 1 regulatory capital threshold from 4 to 6 percent. It also emphasizes the need to improve timeliness of loan loss provisions. Using a sample of European banks, we examine the impact of this...