U.S. commercial banks had another excellent year in 1997. Their return on equity remained in the elevated range that it has occupied for five consecutive years, and their return on assets reached a new high. Banks maintained their profitability while also adding significantly to assets. The...

This paper develops a framework for examining the impact of changes in the solvency standard of a bank (target credit rating) on the pricing of bank assets. We show that the decision of a bank to increase its solvency standard increases the price of bank assets to the extent that a bank prices...

The paper develops an empirical model to explain growth of total assets of a sample of the world's largest banks. The model was estimated over a period in which U.S. banks' assets grew less rapidly than the assets of large banks headquartered in other industrial countries. The model provides an...

Despite the economic slowdown, the profitability of the U.S. commercial banking industry remained high in 2001. Although the weak economy contributed to a sharp rise in provisions for loan and lease losses, those losses were offset in large part by an advance in realized gains on investment...