This paper reviews the financial performance, risk, changing revenue and asset mix and prospects for future shareholder value creation of the 20 largest commercial banks in the US from 2003-2012. Fifteen of the 20 banks in the sample reported record revenues in 2012, with 12 of these banks also...

Using a sample of dividend-paying firms, we show that much of the variation in accruals and real activities can be explained by firms' different performance trajectories. High (low) performance firms spend more (less) on SG&A and CAPEX and hold what appear to be abnormally low (high) levels of...