Central bank independence and governance (CBIG) is a term subject to conflicting definitions and modelling and so its related studies are difficult to compare. This paper therefore focuses on developing of a workable definition, and a robust CBIG index model by identifying its key determinants....

This paper explores the risk-selling versus informational roles of a lead bank's decision to syndicate a loan. It investigates whether this decision conveys private information which may in turn affect the loan price. The results support both the risk-selling and information-selling hypotheses...

This study examines the role of ownership structure in validating the credibility of special dividend signal in the absence of a double taxation of dividends in a full imputation environment. Using a sample of Australian special dividend announcements from January 1996 to June 2002, we document...

This paper investigates whether any deviations in South Asian banks' interest margins can be attributed to market concentration after controlling for other bank-specific factors and exogenous environmental influences. To that end, an improved structural price-concentration model was estimated...

This paper provides an empirical analysis on Thailand's bank governance reforms after the Asian financial crisis in 1997 and then examines the stock market's response. Unlike the pre-crisis period, we find that the bank sector returns (or return volatilities) have become more Granger causal to...

This study examines the impact of board size and independent directors on the performance of local commercial banks in Thailand. A panel fixed-effect in the individual regression model is used to examine this relationship over 1999-2003. The results showed a statistically significant negative...

This paper examines the cost, technical and allocative efficiency of 43 Chinese banks over the period 1993 to 2000. The goal of this analysis is to identify the change in Chinese banks' efficiency following the program of deregulation initiated by the government in 1995. Results show that the...

This paper examines securitization and mortgage yield spread differentials among four groups of Australian mortgage providers: mortgage corporations, commercial banks, building societies and credit unions. The dataset includes over 2000 observations of standard adjustable rate mortgages from 180...

This paper provides a comparative analysis of the development of securitization markets, and its impacts on mortgage finance and the market structure in the U.S. and Australia. It particularly considers the advantages associated with mortgage securitization and those essential factors that lead...

Dividend reinvestment plans (DRPs) were introduced in Australia in 1982 primarily to help shareholders purchase new shares without transaction costs. Variants of the basic DRP were soon developed for taxation reasons to allow for income streaming. This paper examines the basic characteristics...