Though overall bank performance from July 2007 to December 2008 was the worst since the Great Depression, there is …, except that large banks from countries with more restrictions on bank activities performed better and decreased loans less …. Our evidence poses a substantial challenge to those who argue that poor bank governance was a major cause of the crisis …

Though overall bank performance from July 2007 to December 2008 was the worst since at least the Great Depression … performance of banks during the credit crisis. More specifically, we investigate whether bank performance is related to bank …-level governance, country-level governance, country-level regulation, and bank balance sheet and profitability characteristics before …