Supervisory Characteristics and Income Smoothing: The Case of European Banks

2021 ◽  
pp. 59-71
Author(s):  
Costanza Di Fabio
Keyword(s):  
Income Smoothing ◽  
European Banks

Prudential Supervisorss Independence and Income Smoothing in European Banks

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Beatriz Garcia Osma ◽  
Araceli Mora ◽  
Luis Porcuna-Enguix
Keyword(s):  
Income Smoothing ◽  
European Banks

Bank earnings management and income smoothing using commission and fee income

2017 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 419-439 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peterson K. Ozili
Keyword(s):  
Earnings Management ◽  
Management Strategy ◽  
Income Smoothing ◽  
Policy Implications ◽  
Too Big To Fail ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Interest Income ◽  
Ex Post ◽  
European Banks ◽  
Reported Earnings

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate whether European banks use commission and fee income (CF) to smooth reported earnings or to persistently increase reported earnings as an income-increasing earnings management strategy. Design/methodology/approach The author tests the income-smoothing hypothesis following the approach of Stubben (2010) and Ahmed et al. (1999). Findings The author finds that European banks use CF to smooth reported earnings and this behaviour is pronounced among non-too-big-to-fail (NTBTF) European banks compared to too-big-to-fail (TBTF) European banks. The author also finds a positive and significant correlation between interest income and non-interest income (CF) indicating increased systematic risk due to reduced diversification benefits. The author also finds that the CF of NTBTF banks is procyclical with fluctuating economic conditions but not for TBTF banks. Also, the author finds evidence for income-increasing earnings management in the post-crisis period, for larger European banks and when banks have higher ex post interest income, implying that the propensity to engage in income-increasing earnings management significantly depends on bank size and ex post interest margin considerations. The findings have policy implications. Originality/value The author examines alternative financial numbers that banks use to manage earnings. The author focusses on income smoothing via CF among European banks, a context that has not been explored in the literature.

scholarly journals Discretionary provisioning practices among Western European banks

2017 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 109-118 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peterson K. Ozili
Keyword(s):  
Financial Crisis ◽  
Credit Risk ◽  
Income Smoothing ◽  
Least Square ◽  
Loan Loss ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Crisis Period ◽  
Loan Loss Provisions ◽  
European Banks ◽  
Western European

Purpose The purpose of the study is to investigate whether discretionary ‘loan loss provisioning’ by Western European banks is driven by income smoothing or credit risk considerations. Design/methodology/approach To test the income smoothing hypothesis, the study uses ordinary least square regression to examine the relation between loan loss provisions and earnings before tax and loan loss provisions in the post-financial crisis period. Findings The authors find evidence that discretionary provisioning by Western European banks is driven by income smoothing incentives in the post-financial crisis period, particularly, among listed banks. Also, it is observed that discretionary provisioning is significantly influenced by credit risk factors, mainly, non-performing loans and loan growth. Also, it is found that discretionary provisioning by Western European banks is procyclical with fluctuations in the economic cycle. Overall, the implication of the findings is that discretionary provisioning among Western European banks is driven by both income smoothing and credit risk considerations. Originality/value This study focus on banks in Western Europe in contrast to prior European studies.

Prudential supervisors’ independence and income smoothing in European banks

2019 ◽  
Vol 102 ◽  
pp. 156-176 ◽  
Author(s):  
Beatriz García Osma ◽  
Araceli Mora ◽  
Luis Porcuna-Enguix
Keyword(s):  
Income Smoothing ◽  
European Banks

Does the business model influence income smoothing? Evidence from European banks

2019 ◽  
Vol 20 (3) ◽  
pp. 311-330
Author(s):  
Costanza Di Fabio
Keyword(s):  
Business Model ◽  
Balance Sheet ◽  
Income Smoothing ◽  
Loan Loss ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Loan Loss Provisions ◽  
Country Level ◽  
European Banks ◽  
External Governance

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore whether the business model (BM) influences bank income smoothing by considering two competing perspectives, the opportunistic and the information enhancement one. Additionally, the paper addresses the role of auditors’ involvement in national supervision and external governance. Design/methodology/approach Income smoothing is measured by regressing loan loss provisions on unmanaged earnings, and the moderating role of country-level factors is tested employing three-way interactions. The sample consists of European banks observed from 2004 to 2015. Findings Results indicate that the BM affects smoothing and that retail-funded banks exhibit smoother earnings due to informative reasons. National supervisors’ emphasis on audit is positively associated with smoothing by market-oriented banks, whereas external governance constrains smoothing in diversified-retail banks. Research limitations/implications European reforms strengthening monitoring bodies could bring the unintended effect of inducing opportunistic behaviours in market-oriented BMs. However, this study employs indirect proxies for institutional factors and does not consider internal-governance issues. Practical implications Evidence sustains the IASB choice of the expected-loss approach for estimating credit losses as it could enhance the informativeness of retail-funded banks’ accounting numbers. Originality/value This paper contributes to the income smoothing literature by addressing the role of the BM as a whole in explaining smoothing propensity, not limiting the observation to partial features of the balance sheet. Moreover, it supports a counterintuitive argument, the penalty hypothesis, assuming that stronger supervision increases bank incentives to manage earnings to avoid penalties.

scholarly journals Impact of IAS 39 reclassification on income smoothing by European banks

2019 ◽  
Vol 17 (3) ◽  
pp. 537-553
Author(s):  
Peterson K. Ozili
Keyword(s):  
Income Smoothing ◽  
International Accounting ◽  
Loan Loss ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Loan Loss Provisions ◽  
Before And After ◽  
European Banking ◽  
European Banks ◽  
Ias 39 ◽  
The Impact

Purpose The purpose of this study is to examine the impact of the reclassification of International accounting standard (IAS) 39 on income smoothing using loan loss provisions among European banks. Design/methodology/approach Regression methodology is used to determine the extent of income smoothing using loan loss provisions before and after IAS 39 reclassification. The authors predict that the strict recognition and re-classification requirements of IAS 139 reduced banks’ ability to smooth income using bank securities and derivatives, motivating them to rely more on loan loss provisions to smooth income. The authors test this hypothesis over a sample of 114 European banking institutions over the period 2005 to 2013. Findings The findings do not support the prediction for income smoothing through loan loss provisions. Also, there is no evidence for income smoothing in the pre- and post-IAS 39 reclassification period. Research limitations/implications The implication of the findings is that the European banks did not use loan loss provisions to smooth income during the period examined, and rather rely on other accounting numbers to smooth income. This implies that the International Accounting Standards Board’s strict disclosure regulation improved the reliability and informativeness of loan loss provision estimates among European banks during the period of analysis. Originality/value This study is the first attempt to analyze the effect of IAS 39 re-classification on bank’s ability to smooth income in Europe.

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