This study examines the build-up method in estimating the cost of capital for valuing small, closely held businesses. Cost of capital is the rate of return expected from an investment. The build-up method adds the risk-free rate, the equity risk premium, the firm size premium and...

We examine the effects of organization capital — evident in management quality practices — on firms' implied cost of equity. We show that superior management practices decrease firms' cost of equity capital. This novel finding, robust to a battery of sensitivity analyses and to endogeneity...

During the last years the lending business has come under considerable competitive pressure and bank managers often express concern regarding its profitability vis-a-vis other activities. This paper tries to empirically identify factors that are able to explain the financial performance of bank...