We examine the effects of opacity on bank valuation and the synchronicity of bank equity prices over the years 2000-2006 prior to the 2007 financial crisis. Investments in opaque assets are more profitable than transparent assets, and controlling for profitability, have larger valuation...

We investigate whether banks use of loan loss provisions (LLPs) to manage the level and volatility of their earnings and examine the implications for bank risk. We find that banks use LLPs to manage the level and volatility of earnings downward when they are abnormally high and when expected...

We analyze the determinants and the long-run consequences of government interventions in the eurozone banking sector during the 2008/09 financial crisis. Using a novel and comprehensive dataset, we document that fiscally constrained governments "kicked the can down the road" by providing banks...

This article examines how governance, culture, and risk management affect risk taking in banks. It distinguishes between good risks, which are risks that have an ex ante private reward for the bank on a standalone basis, and bad risks, which do not have such a reward. A well-governed bank takes...

Our results show that US banks with a relatively high share of non-interest income become riskier with a moving toward non-interest-generating activities, especially activities from investment banking, proprietary trading, etc. The findings also prove, although weakly, that banks with a...

Conventional wisdom in banking argues that diversification tends to reduce bank risk and improve performance, but the recent financial crisis suggests that aggressive diversification strategies may have resulted in increased risk taking and poor performance. This paper addresses this important...

Inside debt compensation held by top officers of U.S. banks is negatively related to risk and risk-taking. The evidence reveals a robust and strongly negative relation between end-of-2006 inside debt and 2007-2009 bank-specific risk exposures in terms of lost stock market value, volatility, tail...

We investigate whether factors beyond agency conflict are important in bank governance. Specifically, we examine the possibility that confusion and overlap between the roles of CEO and Chairman have important effects on bank risk and return. Using a new data set for UK banks over the period...