This paper analyzes bidding behavior in oil and gas tract auctions in Brazil, where the main winner has been Petrobras, a national company. We test predictions from the theory of common -value, first -price, sealed -bid auctions with asymmetric information. The tests indicate that Petrobras was...

Syndicated loans provide an exceptional opportunity to study differences in banks' approaches to measuring risk because many of these loans are held by more than one bank. We study differences in banks' estimates of risk parameters used to calculate regulatory capital requirements for syndicated...

This paper estimates causal effects of supervision on bank performance using discontinuities in the minimum frequency of examinations required by regulation. This frequency is discontinuous at a value of bank assets that varied over time, allowing us to break the endogeneity between supervision...

We examine voluntary disclosures of information about corporate strategies. We develop a model in which managers choose whether to reveal their strategic plans only to some partners of the firm or also to the outside world. We show that managers face a tradeoff when deciding whether to disclose...

This paper examines voluntary disclosures of information about corporate strategies. We develop a model in which managers choose whether to reveal their strategic plans only to some partners of the firm or also to the outside world. We show that managers face a tradeoff when deciding whether to...

We estimate the effects of the liquidity coverage ratio (LCR), a liquidity requirement for banks, on the tenders that banks submit in Term Deposit Facility operations, a Federal Reserve tool created to manage the quantity of central bank reserves. We identify these effects using variation in LCR...

Capital surcharges on global systemically important banks (GSIBs) decrease lending to firms but do not have any real effects. Banks subject to higher surcharges reduce loan commitments relative to other banks. In response to surcharges, GSIBs also lower their estimates of firm risk. Firms' total...

Deposit insurance premiums impose costs on banks' balance sheets, narrowing profit margins and inducing banks to "search for yield." This paper estimates the effects of deposit insurance premiums on bank risk-taking using supervisory data and a kink in the schedule of deposit insurance premiums....

I study whether commercial banks can improve their supervisory ratings by switching charters. I use the distance between banks' headquarters and chartering authorities' offices to establish a causal effect from switching on ratings. Banks receive better ratings when they switch from national to...