Using a multi-country panel of banks, the authors study whether better capitalized banks fared better in terms of stock returns during the financial crisis. They differentiate among various types of capital ratios: the Basel risk-adjusted ratio; the leverage ratio; the Tier I and Tier II ratios;...

This paper studies whether compliance with the Basel Core Principles for effective banking supervision is associated with bank soundness. Using data for more than 3,000 banks in 86 countries, the authors find that neither the overall index of compliance with the Basel Core Principles nor the...

The authors explore how a multivariate logit empirical model of banking crisis probabilities can be used to monitor fragility in the banking sector. The proposed approach relies on readily available data, and the fragility assessment has a clear interpretation based on in-sample statistics....

This paper studies whether compliance with the Basel Core Principles for Effective Banking Supervision (BCP) improves bank soundness. BCP compliance assessments provide a unique source of information about the quality of bank supervision and regulation around the world. The authors find a...

In the 1980s and 1990s several countries experienced banking crises. The authors try to identify features of the economic environment that tend to breed problems in the banking sector. They do so by economically estimating the probability of a systemic crisis, applying a multivariate logic model...

Based on evidence of 61 countries in 1980-97, the authors find that explicit deposit insurance tends to be detrimental to bank stability, the more so where bank interest rates are deregulated and the institutional environment is weak. The adverse impact of deposit insurance on bank stability...

The authors study the empirical relationship between banking crises and financial liberalization using a panel of data for 53 countries for 1980-95. They find that banking crises are more likely to occur in liberalized financial systems. But financial liberalization's impact on a fragile banking...

A group of heavily indebted low-income countries (HIPCs), most in Sub-Saharan Africa, has continued to experience external debt problems. Because the HIPCs'economic characteristics and external imbalances are very different from those of middle-income countries, the analysis of debt problems and...

Much of the substantial literature on banking crises, focuses on early warning indicators. The authors look at what happens to the economy, and the banking sector after a banking crisis breaks out. Much of the theory of banking crises assigns a central role to depositor runs, with vulnerability...

Previous studies indicate that debt buybacks at market prices benefit lenders the most because the lack of a seniority structure in sovereign lending distorts secondary market prices upward. The author examines whether welfare-improving buybacks would arise at the"fair"price. If so, policy...