This is a Chapter contributing to the Research Handbook on Executive Compensation. In the quest for possible causes of the recent financial crisis, commentators often argue that bank executives had poor incentives. Critics claim, in particular, that executive compensation was not properly...

This paper investigates what we can learn from the financial crisis about the link between accounting and financial stability. The picture that emerges ten years after the crisis is substantially different from the picture that dominated the accounting debate during and shortly after the crisis....

Using supervisory data for US banks, we evaluate the alignment of Basel II/III AIRB (Advanced Internal Ratings Based) risk estimates with portfolio risk. We use loan performance as a direct measure of portfolio risk as well as less direct market-based measures. Our results document that loan...

This paper identifies the main dimensions of capital regulation. We use survey data from 142 countries from the World Bank's (2013) database covering various aspects of bank regulation. Using multiple explorative factor analysis, we identify two main dimensions of capital regulation: complexity...

Under the Basel capital rules for internationally active banks, subordinated debt has always been permitted to contribute a part of the bank's regulatory capital requirements. This is a surprising concession to banks, at first sight, since debt, as a liability, cannot contribute to equity (ie...

The internal ratings-based (IRB) approach maps banks’ risk profiles more adequately than the standardized approach. After switching to IRB, banks’ risk-weighted asset (RWA) densities are thus expected to diverge, especially across countries with different supervisory strictness and risk...

The internal ratings-based (IRB) approach maps bank risk profiles more adequately than the standardized approach. After switching to IRB, banks' risk-weighted asset (RWA) densities are thus expected to diverge, especially across countries with different supervisory strictness and risk levels....

This white paper was commissioned by the Council of Institutional Investors for the purpose of educating its members, policymakers, and the general public about important credit rating agency regulation proposals and their potential impact on investors. It offers an institutional investor...

The paper analyzes a very stylized model of crises and demonstrates how the degree of strategic complementarity in the actions of investors is a critical determinant of fragility. It is shown how the balance sheet composition of a financial intermediary, parameters of the information structure...