scholarly journals When do regulations matter for bank risk-taking? An analysis of the interaction between external regulation and board characteristics

2018 ◽  
Vol 18 (3) ◽  
pp. 440-461 ◽  
Author(s):  
Glauco De Vita ◽  
Yun Luo
Keyword(s):  
Risk Taking ◽  
Gender Diversity ◽  
Capital Requirements ◽  
Market Discipline ◽  
Bank Risk ◽  
Board Independence ◽  
Board Governance ◽  
Board Size ◽  
Content Type ◽  
External Regulation

PurposeAccording to previous international studies, the impact of external regulation on bank risk is ambiguous. The purpose of this paper is to ask the question, “When do regulations matter for bank risk-taking?” by reporting the first empirical investigation of how the relation between bank regulations (capital requirements, official supervisory power and market discipline) and bank risk-taking is moderated by board monitoring characteristics.Design/methodology/approachUsing SYS-GMM, the analysis of the interaction between bank-level boards of directors’ attributes (board size, board independence and board gender diversity) and external regulation is based on a sample of 493 banks operating in 54 countries over 2001-2015, accounting for three measures of bank risk-taking.FindingsRegulations matter for bank risk-taking conditional on board characteristics: board size, board independence and board diversity. With the exception of capital requirements, the market discipline exerted by external private monitoring and greater supervisory power are unable to mitigate the propensity to greater risk-taking by banks resulting from larger board size, higher board independence and greater gender diversity of the board.Originality/valueThe bank risk empirical literature is still silent as to the interaction between board governance and regulation for the purpose of examining banks’ risk-taking. This paper fills this gap, thus making a significant contribution by extending our knowledge of whether and how board governance moderates the relationship between external regulation and bank risk-taking.

Corporate governance and risk taking: the role of board gender diversity

2019 ◽  
Vol 31 (1) ◽  
pp. 19-42 ◽  
Author(s):  
Heba Abou-El-Sood
Keyword(s):  
Corporate Governance ◽  
Risk Taking ◽  
Emerging Market ◽  
Gender Diversity ◽  
Capital Adequacy ◽  
Bank Risk ◽  
Regulatory Capital ◽  
Government Ownership ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Board Gender Diversity

Purpose This paper aims to investigate the association between board gender diversity and bank risk taking in an emerging market context. Design/methodology/approach The association between female board directorship and bank risk taking is examined, while controlling for board characteristics, managerial, concentrated, family and government ownership. Two-stage regression with instrumental variables is used for a sample of banks listed in Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries during 2002-2014. Findings Results show that banks with more female board directors invest in less risky positions; the association is attenuated when the regulatory capital is larger, providing protection against risky investments, and female directors tend to invest less in risky asset positions in Islamic banks relative to conventional banks. Practical implications The relevance of the findings stems from the recent initiatives undertaken by the Basel Committee to address deficient corporate governance structures that lead to bank breakdowns and the diversified economy of the fast-growing GCC market, relying on banking services in the aftermath of the oil price drop. Originality/value This paper provides novel evidence on the influence of board gender diversity on bank risk taking in an emerging market context. This paper fills a gap in prior research by examining bank-specific regulatory capital adequacy and Islamic banking aspects.

scholarly journals Bank Governance, Regulation and Risk Taking: Evidence from Tunisia

2016 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 122
Author(s):  
Mondher Kouki ◽  
Lamia Mabrouk
Keyword(s):  
Agency Theory ◽  
Ownership Structure ◽  
Risk Taking ◽  
Bank Risk ◽  
Board Independence ◽  
Board Size ◽  
Expected Effect ◽  
Prior Literature ◽  
Bank Governance

This paper investigates the hypothesis that governance and regulation have a role in reducing bank risk. Our evidences are partially consistent with standard agency theory. Using a sample of Tunisian listed banks between 2000 and 2014, we show that bank risk is, influenced positively by ownership structure and negatively by regulation, which confirm our hypotheses. However, board independence and board size seems to have the opposite expected effect, which is largely inconsistent with findings in the prior literature.

scholarly journals Corporate board structures and intellectual capital: evidence from banks in Africa

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicholas Asare ◽  
Francis Aboagye-Otchere ◽  
Joseph Mensah Onumah
Keyword(s):  
Intellectual Capital ◽  
Generalized Method Of Moments ◽  
Gender Diversity ◽  
Negative Relationship ◽  
Value Added ◽  
Board Independence ◽  
Annual Data ◽  
Board Size ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Board Gender Diversity

PurposeThis study examines the nature of the relationship between board structures (BSs) and intellectual capital (IC) of banks in Africa.Design/methodology/approachUsing annual data from financial statements of 366 banks from 26 African countries from 2007 to 2015, the study estimates IC using the value-added intellectual coefficient (VAIC) and BSs using board size, board independence and board gender diversity. The system generalized method of moments and panel-corrected standard error estimation strategies are used to estimate panel regressions.FindingsThere is a significant negative relationship between board independence and intellectual capital. The results also indicate that the IC of banks does not depend on board size and board gender diversity.Practical implicationsThe study's findings provide evidence of the extent to which BSs have been instituted to support investments in intellectual capital as a means of improving the performance of banks in Africa.Originality/valueThis study provides some empirical evidence from Africa's banking sector to justify that banks with better IC have boards that are less independent. This study is one of the few studies that employs many countries' data.

Corporate governance and risk-taking of Islamic banks: evidence from OIC countries

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ejaz Aslam ◽  
Razali Haron
Keyword(s):  
Corporate Governance ◽  
Risk Taking ◽  
Audit Committee ◽  
Liquidity Risk ◽  
Bank Risk ◽  
Board Independence ◽  
Islamic Banks ◽  
Ceo Power ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Level Of Risk

Purpose This paper aims to investigate the impact of corporate governance and other related factors on the risk-taking of Islamic banks. Risk-taking is defined according to credit risk, liquidity risk and operational risk. Design/methodology/approach The study uses the two step system generalized method of moment (2SYS-GMM) estimation technique by using a panel data set of 129 Islamic banks (IBs) from 29 countries in the Middle East, South Asia and the Southeast Asia regions covering from 2008 to 2017. Governance variables incorporated include board size, board independence, chief executive officer (CEO) power, Shariah board and audit committee, as well as other control variables. Findings This study provides evidence that board size and Shariah board are positively and significantly related to credit and liquidity risk. Board independence and CEO power are negative and significantly associated with credit and liquidity risk, but the audit committee has a mixed relationship with bank risk. Male CEOs take more risk compared to the female and more board meeting has an inverse relationship with Islamic banks risk. Bank size, however, does not influence the level of risk in Islamic banks, but leverage has an inverse relationship with bank risk. Research limitations/implications The present study sheds light on the risk-taking behaviour of the board of IBs, particularly the board independence and CEO power reducing the level of risk in IBs thereby contributing to the agency theory. Therefore, regulators and policymakers can use the findings of this study to strengthen the internal corporate governance mechanism to protect IBs at a time of financial distress. Moreover, it increases the trust of the shareholders and stakeholders in the effectiveness of governance reforms that have been pursued to reap long-term benefits. Originality/value To the best of the knowledge, this research is preliminary in examining the board behaviour on risk-taking of IBs from four different regions. The results are robust and suggest that the board of directors mitigate the level of risk in IBs.

Corporate governance and firm value: a study on European financial institutions

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hanen Ben Fatma ◽  
Jamel Chouaibi
Keyword(s):  
Corporate Governance ◽  
Financial Institutions ◽  
Firm Value ◽  
Gender Diversity ◽  
Ownership Concentration ◽  
Board Independence ◽  
Board Size ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Corporate Governance Mechanisms ◽  
Board Gender Diversity

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of the characteristics of two corporate governance mechanisms, namely, board of directors and ownership structure, on the firm value of European financial institutions.Design/methodology/approachUsing the market-to-book ratio calculated by the Thomson Reuters Eikon ASSET4 database, this study measures the firm value of 111 financial institutions belonging to 12 European countries listed on the stock exchange during the period 2007–2019. Multivariate regression analysis on panel data is used to estimate the relationship between corporate governance attributes, such as board size, board independence, board gender diversity, ownership concentration and CEO ownership, and the firm value of European financial institutions.FindingsThe empirical results reveal that board gender diversity and CEO ownership are positively related to the firm value, whereas board size and ownership concentration are negatively related. Furthermore, the findings suggest that board independence is insignificantly correlated with the firm value. Regarding the control variables, the results show that financial institutions' size, age and legal system are significant factors in changing the firm value. Nevertheless, financial institutions' leverage and activity sector are not significantly correlated with their value.Originality/valueThis research contributes to the literature by providing the significant links between some corporate governance mechanisms and the firm value of companies from the financial industry, by addressing the information gap for this critical industry in the context of a developed market like Europe.

Impact of board characteristics on governance, environmental and ethical disclosure

2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (3) ◽  
pp. 273-295 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hanen Khaireddine ◽  
Bassem Salhi ◽  
Jabr Aljabr ◽  
Anis Jarboui
Keyword(s):  
Gender Diversity ◽  
Generalized Least Squares ◽  
Board Independence ◽  
Environmental Disclosure ◽  
Board Size ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Board Characteristics ◽  
Panel Regressions ◽  
Mandatory Adoption ◽  
Board Gender Diversity

Purpose The purpose of this study is to investigate how board characteristics impact the governance, environmental and ethics disclosure. Board characteristics such as board size, gender diversity, board independence, CEO/chair duality and board meeting are included. Design/methodology/approach This study is based on a sample of 82 companies listed in the SBF120 between 2012 and 2017. A number of econometric techniques are used such as generalized least squares to test the panel regressions. Findings Board independence, board gender diversity and board meetings have a positive and significant influence on governance, environmental and ethics disclosure. Board size is positively and significantly associated only with corporate environmental disclosure. The adoption of Global Reporting Initiatives (GRI, G4) has not affected or biased the corporate governance (CG), environmental and ethics disclosure. Originality/value This study adds to the literature on management reporting behavior and ethics and contributes to the extant CG literature by offering new evidence on the disclosure of good CG practices as well as environmental and ethics behavior. This study offers new insights about the potential influence of board characteristics on such specific disclosure practices focusing “during the optional period of GRI4 and after their mandatory adoption”.

Gender diversity and bank risk-taking: an empirical investigation in Italy

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Elisa Menicucci ◽  
Guido Paolucci
Keyword(s):  
Risk Aversion ◽  
Risk Taking ◽  
Gender Diversity ◽  
Risk Profile ◽  
Capital Adequacy ◽  
Bank Risk ◽  
Gender Quotas ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Board Directors ◽  
Risk Taking Behavior

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between gender diversity and the risk profile of Italian banks during the period 2015–2019. This study examines whether the presence of female board directors or top executives has any significant effect on bank risk-taking. Design/methodology/approach To explore the influence of women on bank risk-taking, the authors analyzed a sample of 387 Italian banks and developed an econometric model applying unbalanced panel data with firm fixed effects and controls per year. Within a multivariate regression model, the authors considered five risk dimensions to verify the effect of gender diversity. Findings The findings suggest that female board directors and executives are considerably more risk averse and less overconfident than their male colleagues, thus confirming a negative causality between risk-taking and gender diversity. The results reveal that banks headed by women are less risky because they report higher capital adequacy and equity to assets ratios. As credit risk in female-led banks is no different from male-led ones, higher capital adequacy does not derive from lower asset quality because it is linked to the higher risk aversion of female directors and top managers. Research limitations/implications From a theoretical standpoint, the results suggest that having women in executive positions entails different risk implications for Italian banks; from a managerial perspective, the results highlight conditions that may promote the role of women in the banking sector. The conclusions are of particular significance because they provide some support for the view that regulators should favor gender quotas in the board management of banks to reduce risk-taking behavior. Originality/value This paper offers an in-depth examination of the risk practices of banks and it attempts to bridge the gap in prior literature on the risk profile of the Italian banking industry given that few empirical studies have examined the determinants of risk-taking in this field, to date. The findings on the higher risk aversion of women directors advance the understanding of the determinants of risk-taking behavior in banks, suggesting that gender quotas in bank boards can contribute to reducing risk-taking behavior. This also unveils some policy implications for bank regulatory authorities.

Regulation, banking competition and risk-taking behavior in the MENA region: policy implications for Islamic banks

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Miroslav Mateev ◽  
Syed Moudud-Ul-Huq ◽  
Ahmad Sahyouni
Keyword(s):  
Market Power ◽  
Risk Behavior ◽  
Risk Taking ◽  
Financial Stability ◽  
Market Competition ◽  
Capital Requirements ◽  
Bank Risk ◽  
Risk Level ◽  
Mena Region ◽  
Content Type

Purpose This paper aims to investigate the impact of regulation and market competition on the risk-taking Behaviour of financial institutions in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. Design/methodology/approach The empirical framework is based on panel fixed effects/random effects specification. For robustness purpose, this study also uses the generalized method of moments estimation technique. This study tests the hypothesis that regulatory capital requirements have a significant effect on financial stability of Islamic and conventional banks (CBs) in the MENA region. This study also investigates the moderating effect of market power and concentration on the relationship between capital regulation and bank risk. Findings The estimation results support the view that capital adequacy ratio (CAR) has no significant impact on credit risk of Islamic banks (IBs), whereas market competition does play a significant role in shaping the risk behavior of these institutions. This study report opposite results for CBs – an increase in the minimum capital requirements is followed by an increase in a bank’s risk level, which has a negative impact on their financial stability. Furthermore, the results support the notion of a non-linear relationship between banking concentration and bank risk. The findings inform the regulatory authorities concerned with improving the financial stability of banking sector in the MENA region to set their policy differently depending on the level of concentration in the banking market. Research limitations/implications This study contributes to the literature on the effectiveness of regulatory reforms (in this case, capital requirements) and market competition for bank performance and risk-taking. In regard to IBs, capital requirements are less effective in requiring IBs to adjust their risk level according to the Basel III methodology. This study finds that IBs’ risk behavior is strongly associated with market competition, and therefore, the interest rates. Moreover, banks operating in markets with high banking concentration (but not necessarily, low competition), will decrease their credit risk level in response to an increase in the minimum capital requirements. As a result, these banks will be more stable compared to their conventional peers. Thus, regulators and policymakers in the MENA region should restrict the risk-taking behavior of IBs through stringent capital requirements and more intense banking supervision. Practical implications The practical implications of these findings are that the regulatory authorities concerned with improving banking sector stability in the MENA region should proceed differently, depending on the level of banking market concentration. The findings inform regulators and policymakers to set capital requirements at levels that would restrict banks from taking more risk to increase their returns. They are also important for bank managers who should avoid risky strategies in response to increased regulatory pressure (e.g. increase in the minimum required capital level of 8%), as they may lead to an increase in the level of non-performing loans, and therefore, a greater probability of bank default. A future extension of this study will focus on testing the effect of bank risk-taking and market competition on the capitalization levels of banks in the MENA countries. More specifically, this study will investigates if banks raise their capitalization levels during the COVID-19 pandemic. Originality/value The analysis of previous research indicates that there is no unambiguous answer to the question of whether IBs perform differently than CBs under different competitive conditions. To fill this gap, this study examines the influence of capital regulation and market competition (both individually and interactively) on bank risk-taking behavior using a large sample of banking institutions in 18 MENA countries over 14 years (2005–2018). For the first time in this line of research, this study shows that the level of market power is positively associated with the level of a bank’ insolvency risk. In others words, IBs operating in highly competitive markets are more inclined to take a higher risk than their conventional peers. Regarding the IBs credit risk behavior, this study finds that market power has a limited impact on the relationship between CAR and risk level. This means that IBs are still applying in their operations the theoretical models based on the prohibition of interest.

scholarly journals Covid-19 and performance disclosure: does governance matter?

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mahmoud Elmarzouky ◽  
Khaldoon Albitar ◽  
Khaled Hussainey
Keyword(s):  
Firm Performance ◽  
Gender Diversity ◽  
Annual Reports ◽  
Board Independence ◽  
Board Size ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Related Information ◽  
And Performance ◽  
And Gender ◽  
The Relationship

Purpose This paper aims to investigate whether Covid-19 related information is associated with a higher level of performance disclosure in the annual reports. Furthermore, it examines the moderating effect of corporate governance on the relationship between Covid-19 and the performance disclosure by using three governance mechanisms: board size, board independence and gender diversity. Design/methodology/approach The authors use quantitative content analysis. The authors applied an automated textual analysis technique to measure the level of Covid-19 information and performance disclosure for the UK Financial Times Stock Exchange all-share non-financial firms. Findings The authors found a significant positive relationship between the Covid-19 disclosure and the firm performance disclosure in the annual reports. The authors also find that both board independence and gender diversity moderate the relationship between the Covid-19 related information and the level of performance disclosure in the annual reports. The authors further run a robustness analysis, which confirms the main results. Practical implications The finding is beneficial for the regulatory setters to better understand whether firms provide generic or meaningful Covid-19 information linked to the firm’s performance. The unique findings of this paper are relevant to regulators, governments, management, shareholders and academics. Originality/value The authors contribute to the literature in a unique and core research area not researched previously. The paper links the Covid-19 disclosure with the firm performance from the corporate narrative perspective. The paper underlines governance factors as a moderating role in this relationship by considering three main mechanisms: board size, board independence and gender diversity.

Capital regulatory pressure, charter value and bank risk-taking: empirical evidence for China

2018 ◽  
Vol 26 (1) ◽  
pp. 170-186 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jinyi Zhang ◽  
Hai Jiang
Keyword(s):  
Risk Taking ◽  
Capital Requirements ◽  
Dynamic Panel Data ◽  
Bank Risk ◽  
Market Force ◽  
Regulatory Regime ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Regulatory Pressure ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Charter Value

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to identify the effect of induced capital regulatory pressure on banks’ charter value and risk-taking, and the influence of bank’s charter value on its risk-taking under such a capital regulatory pressure. Design/methodology/approach The authors use two different estimations to check the robustness of the results. First, they apply a two-stage least squares mode to estimate the impact of capital requirements and bank charter value on bank risk-taking, with the influence of capital regulatory and market-force variables on bank charter value. Second, to reduce the problem of unobserved heterogeneity, the authors use dynamic panel data techniques as a check for robustness. Findings The empirical results show that higher capital requirements pressure brings about a lower charter value for banks, which in turn increases their risk-taking. The issue of banks’ risk-taking is also affected by their size: large banks seem to be more stable than their smaller counterparts. Research limitations/implications The authors’ findings suggest that regulatory pressure has had the desired impact on insolvency risk for Chinese banks due to the expected penalty triggered by a breach of capital requirements. Practical implications It is the first paper that investigates the impact of capital regulatory pressure on risk-taking of the Chinese banking system, which sheds light on concerns about regulatory monitoring of bank risk and capital regulatory framework. Social implications This paper measures the impact of capital regulation on Chinese bank charter value and risk-taking and offers some support for the implementation of Basel III in China. Originality/value The authors have constructed different measures of regulatory pressure to investigate the influence of new capital regulatory regime on banks’ behavior. Most importantly, the exogenous changes of banks’ capital ratio induced by capital regulatory pressure during the past decade that provides a unique opportunity to directly analyze the impact of capital regulatory pressure on bank charter value and risk-taking.

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