Cross-country integration of banking in Europe typically has been analyzed from the perspective of particular markets for financial products. We extend this research to consider the potential effects of market integration on the portfolio choices and financial structure of banks in seven...

Anecdotal evidence that the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) influences the lending behavior of financial institutions has not been uniformly supported by empirical research. We revisit this issue by evaluating changes in low-income mortgage lending at commercial banks over the 1992-96 period....

Significant disagreement exists as to whether the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) influences the lending behavior of financial institutions. We conduct empirical tests on the lending of banks directly affected by regulatory enforcement of the CRA those experiencing upgrades or downgrades in...

We hypothesize that fundamental features that distinguish European capital markets have predictably influenced emerging national differences in bank capitalization and loan growth. Using bank-level data from 13 European countries, 1998 to 2004, we find evidence of positive effects of...

We analyze residential mortgage lending by banks in periods surrounding upgrades or downgrades in their ratings under the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA). Empirical results indicate that upgraded banks had higher relative levels of lending than did downgraded banks prior to ratings changes....

The Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) encourages banks and savings and loan associations to meet the credit needs of local communities. Controversies surrounding implementation of the CRA, however, have challenged its effectiveness as a tool for increasing loan activity. To determine whether the...