In this paper we present a methodology of model-based calibration additional capital needed in an interconnected financial system to minimize potential contagion losses. Building on ideas from combinatorial optimization tailored controlling case complete information about interbank network, augment the model with three plausible types fire sale mechanisms. We then demonstrate power euro area ba...

Asset encumbrance is a central concept in the context of banks’ liquidity crises, as it associated with their capacity to obtain secured funding. This occasional paper summarises work carried out by task force on asset encumbrance, bringing together analyses ECB and those national competent authorities working topic. First, we describe how has evolved euro area banks, focusing country business ...

China is reforming its banking system, partially privatizing and taking on minority foreign ownership of three of its dominant ‘‘Big Four” state-owned banks. This paper helps predict the effects by analyzing the efficiency of Chinese banks over 1994–2003. Findings suggest that Big Four banks are by far the least efficient; foreign banks are most efficient; and minority foreign ownership is asso...

Standard banking theory suggests that there exists an optimal level of credit risk that yields maximum bank profit. We identify the optimal level of risk-weighted assets that maximizes banks’ returns in the full sample of US banks over the period 1996–2011. We find that this optimal level is cyclical for the average bank, being higher than the realized credit risk in relatively stable periods w...

This paper first examines various definitions of Kornai’s soft budget constraint (SBC) and the difficulties involved in interpreting data on losses, subsidies and financing, and then considers selective evidence from transition economies. Stocks of overdue trade credit are no larger than in Western economies and firms in transition economies (TEs) typically impose hard budget constraints on eac...

Article history: Received 21 August 2013 Accepted 15 November 2013 Available online 19 December 2013 Capital adequacy plays an important role in determining banking activities. A bank must hold a minimum level of capital to ensure sufficient funds to buffer against unexpected losses or adverse shocks. This study analyzes and compares Islamic and conventional banks in 14 Organization of Islamic ...

This paper investigates the effects of bank internationalization on risk-taking. We find that internationalization increases bank risk-taking: the Z-score of US banks that engage in foreign activities is lower than that of their purely domestic peers. The results are consistent with the empirical dominance of the market risk hypothesis, whereby internationalization increases banks’ risk due to ...

The odds of a current syndicate relationship between two lenders depend upon their previous alliances. The odds are significantly higher [lower] and strongest for a current lead–participant relationship with a continuation [reversal] of their previous roles. To illustrate, the odds are nearly four times higher when two lenders have allied in the previous 5 years. The strength of lead–participan...

The surrender option embedded in many life insurance products is a clause that allows policyholders to terminate the contract early. Pricing techniques based on the American Contingent Claim (ACC) theory are often used, though the actual policyholders’ behavior is far from optimal. Inspired by many prepayment models for mortgage backed securities, this paper builds a Rational Expectation (RE) m...

We highlight the ex ante risk-shifting incentives faced by a bank’s shareholders/managers when CoCos (contingent convertible capital) are part of the capital structure. The risk shifting incentive arises from the wealth transfers that the shareholders will receive upon the CoCo’s conversion under CoCo designs widely used in practice. Specifically we show that for principal writedown and nondilu...