Although foreign banks can act as catalysts for financial and economic development their role remains controversial because they might simply displace local lenders thereby tightening firms' overall access to credit. To settle this issue we study their effect on real economic activity in a large...

Although foreign banks can act as catalysts for financial and economic development their role remains controversial because they might simply displace local lenders thereby tightening firms' overall access to credit. To settle this issue we study their effect on real economic activity in a large...

Focusing on the combination of commercial and investment banking inherent in universal financial intermediation, optimal transfer of control, modes of corporate governance and the structure of particular banking systems are developed in a two-stage game about investment in managerial resources...

Banking systems and bankruptcy codes define the legal environment in which financial contracts are concluded by, respectively, restricting financial intermediaries to certain contracts and defining reorganization proceedings. The theoretical link between these two institutions are thus financial...

Banking systems have historically evolved toward their present state in response to particular economic or institutional challenges and through legislative or regulatory intervention. Drawing on the evolution of the German financial system toward universal financial intermediation in the second...

The inability to reconcile observed levels of foreign exchange rate volatility with predictions derived from rational expectations models represents one of the most persistent challenges in international nance. This paper shows that such excess volatility puzzles arise from informational...

In infrastructure projects bondholders and shareholders share residual risks over time despite debt covenants meant to mitigate risk shifting. For projects accessing international bond markets to benefit from longer maturities and lower borrowing costs, it is therfore necessary to pay attention...

Risk shifting and incomplete contracting lie at the heart of the agency relationship inherent in the procurement and financing of large-scale projects such as power plants, oil and gas pipelines, and liquefied natural gas facilities. An investigation of Ras Gas bonds provides empirical evidence...