We explore whether the transparency in banks' lending activities enhances the harmonization of credit terms that a bank offers across its different geographic regions. We take advantage of a novel loan-level reporting initiative by the European Central Bank, which requires repo borrowing banks...

By leveraging machine-learning algorithms and using nontraditional digital data derived primarily from borrowers’ mobile devices, digital lenders have vastly expanded access to credit in developing economies for millions of individuals without a prior credit history. At the same time,...

We examine the relation between accounting quality and debt concentration in corporate capital structures (i.e., firms' tendency to rely predominantly on only a few types of debt). Motivated by theoretical and empirical research that supports a strong link between debt concentration and...

We explore whether behavioral biases impede the effective processing and interpretation of soft information in private lending. Taking advantage of the internal reporting system of a large federal credit union, we delineate three important biases likely to affect the lending process: (1) limited...

We investigate how the availability of traded credit default swaps (CDSs) affects the referenced firms' voluntary disclosure choices. CDSs enable lenders to hedge their credit risk exposure, weakening their incentives to monitor borrowers. We predict that reduced lender monitoring in turn leads...

We investigate whether institutional ownership (IO) plays a role in transmitting systemic risk through banks. We find robust evidence suggesting that IO is positively associated with future systemic risk. We find this relationship is stronger during economic downturns at the economy-wide level,...

This study examines whether application of IFRS by non-US firms results in accounting amounts comparable to those resulting from application of US GAAP by US firms. IFRS firms have greater accounting system and value relevance comparability with US firms when IFRS firms apply IFRS than when they...

This study addresses whether voluntary IFRS adoption is associated with increased comparability of accounting amounts and capital market benefits. We find that after firms voluntarily adopt IFRS (“adopting” firms), their accounting amounts are more comparable to those of firms that...