scholarly journals The impacts of financial regulations: solvency and liquidity in the post-crisis period

2017 ◽  
Vol 25 (3) ◽  
pp. 253-270 ◽  
Author(s):  
Colleen Baker ◽  
Christine Cummings ◽  
Julapa Jagtiani

Purpose Basel III and the capital stress testing introduced new requirements and new definitions while retaining the structure of the pre-2010 requirements. The total number of requirements increased, making it difficult to determine which and how many constraints are binding. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the new financial regulations in the post-financial crisis period, focusing on the capital and liquidity regulations. Design/methodology/approach The authors explore the impact of financial regulations using various data sources – financial and accounting data from Y-9C Reports. Market data such as daily bond trading from TRACE through the Wharton Data Research Services and Treasury yield from the Bloomberg. The authors use regression analysis to examine the roles of capital adequacy and liquidity regulations. Findings The authors’ analysis in this paper suggest that Basel III, CET1 and Level 1 HQLAs requirements post-financial crisis have reshaped the balance sheets of large financial institutions, with some differential impacts on traditional versus capital markets banks. These changes appear to respond to the binding constraints (CET1 being a preponderance of required regulatory capital, Level 1 HQLAs a majority of required HQLAs and the expense of both) created by these new requirements, which also appear to have constrained asset growth at such institutions. Consistent with the authors’ view, their results suggest that the new requirements are less constraining for large traditional banks (such institutions show a rapid increase in CET1 capital to steady-state levels by 2012 and strong retail deposit rebuilding resulting in a relatively low required HQLA) and much more so, particularly the liquidity requirement, for the capital markets banks (such institutions show continuous building of CET1 capital over the post-crisis observation period, declines in the share of trading assets and increases in the share of HQLAs combined with efforts to increase retail deposits). Credit risk spreads rose dramatically during the financial crisis of 2008-2009. Although decreased, they remain higher and with greater dispersion (for both groups of banks) than pre-crisis. Preliminary regression analysis suggests that the market responds to changes in measured liquidity, rather than the regulatory capital ratios, when pricing bank risk (as reflected on bond spreads). Research limitations/implications The estimation is based on historical relationship in the data. We must be cautious in extrapolating the results in a different environment. Practical implications There appears to be an arbitrage between HQLA and retail deposits. Capital markets banks and traditional banks follow different business models as evident in the analysis in this paper. Social implications Market pricing suggests that the liquidity measures are more transparent and easier to understand. Capital ratios are not as easy to interpret. Originality/value Original research. To the authors’ knowledge, there is no paper that examines impacts of capital and liquidity regulations after the crisis at capital markets banks vs traditional banks – using both accounting data and market data.

2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 409-424 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peterson K. Ozili

Purpose The distinction between systemic banks (GSIBs) and non-systemic banks (non-GSIBs) is driven by policy reasons. This study aims to examine the behaviour of non-performing loans in European GSIBs and non-GSIBs from 2004 to 2013. Design/methodology/approach The author uses regression methodology to analyse the association between non-performing loans (NPLs) and the state of the economy. Findings The author finds that more profitable banks witness higher NPLs regardless of them being systemic or non-systemic. Secondly, GSIBs have fewer NPLs during economic booms and during periods of increased lending, while non-GSIBs experience higher NPLs during periods of increased lending. The author also observes that European non-GSIBs that exceed regulatory capital requirement also experience higher NPLs. In the post-crisis period, there is a significant and negative relationship between NPLs and the economic cycle for GSIBs in the post-financial crisis period and a significant and positive relationship between NPLs, loan supply and bank profitability for GSIBs in the post-financial crisis period; on the other hand, there is a significant and negative relationship between NPLs and regulatory capital ratios for non-GSIBs in the post-financial crisis period and a significant and positive relationship between NPLs and bank profitability for non-GSIBs in the post-financial crisis period. The findings have implications. Originality/value To the best of the author’s knowledge, the literature on the determinants of NPL has not empirically examined the behaviour of NPLs in European GSIBs and non-GSIBs. This paper examines this issue to provide insights to help policymakers and academics understand the peculiarities of NPLs in Europe.


2018 ◽  
Vol 35 (3) ◽  
pp. 501-529
Author(s):  
Martien Lubberink ◽  
Annelies Renders

In the lead-up to the implementation of Basel III, European banks repurchased debt securities that traded below par. Banks engaged in these Liability Management Exercises (LMEs) to realize a fair value gain that prudential rules exclude from regulatory capital calculations. The LMEs enabled banks to augment Core Tier 1 capital, given that alternative methods to increase capital ratios were not feasible in practice. Using data of 720 European LMEs conducted between April 2009 and December 2013, we show that poorly capitalized banks repurchased securities and lost about €9.1bn in premiums to compensate their holders. Banks also repurchased the most loss-absorbing securities, for which they paid the highest premiums. These premiums increase with leverage and in times of stress. Hence debt repurchases are a cause for prudential concern.


2018 ◽  
Vol 45 (3) ◽  
pp. 565-585 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kolade Sunday Adesina ◽  
John Muteba Mwamba

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to assist bank regulators in Africa who are currently considering the implementation of Basel III countercyclical capital buffer (CCB) requirement. Design/methodology/approach Using a panel data set of 129 commercial banks operating in 14 African countries over the period 2004–2014, this paper estimates the system generalized method of moments regression to examine the impact of business cycle on banks’ regulatory capital buffers and attempts to identify the influence of bank revenue diversification, market power and cost of funding (CF) on bank regulatory capital buffers. It further carries out some robustness analyses using a panel data set of 257 commercial banks in 23 African countries over the period 2004–2014. Findings The results show that higher regulatory capital buffers are associated with higher market power, higher revenue diversification and higher CF. Additionally, the results show significant evidence of procyclical behavior of bank capital buffers (BUFs) in the sampled countries. Practical implications The results of this study suggest that African banking systems are not exposed to contagion and systemic risks arising from countercyclical movements of BUFs to the real economy. Therefore, this study does not support the implementation of the Basel III CCB requirement in the sampled African countries. Originality/value Considering that the results of existing studies on the cyclical behavior of BUFs are inconclusive, there is value in studying the cyclical movements of bank regulatory capital buffers in a set of countries that has not been analyzed before. Toward this direction, this is the first empirical study focusing on the cyclical behavior of bank regulatory capital buffers in Africa. Besides examining the cyclical behavior of bank regulatory capital buffers, this paper further investigates the effects of bank revenue diversification, market power and CF on bank regulatory capital buffers.


2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (5) ◽  
pp. 687-700 ◽  
Author(s):  
Siti Raihana Hamzah ◽  
Obiyathulla Ismath Bacha ◽  
Abbas Mirakhor ◽  
Nurhafiza Abdul Kader Malim

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the extent of risk shifting behavior in bonds and sukuk. The examination is significant, as economists and scholars identify risk shifting as the primary cause of the global financial crisis. Yet, the dangers of this debt-financing feature are largely ignored – one needs to only witness the record growth of global debt even after the global financial crisis. Design/methodology/approach To identify the signs of risk shifting existence in the corporations, this paper compares each corporation’s operating risk before and after issuing debt. Operating risk or risk of a firm’s activities is measured using the volatility of the operating earnings or coefficient variation of earning before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA). Using EBITDA as the variable offers one distinct advantage to using asset volatility as previous research has – EBITDA can be extracted directly from firms’ accounting data and is not model-specific. Findings Risk shifting can be found in not only the bond system but also the debt-based sukuk system – a noteworthy finding because sukuk, supposedly in a different class from bonds, have been criticized in some quarters for their apparent similarity to bonds. On the other hand, this study thus shows that equity feature, when it is embedded in bonds (as in convertible bonds) or when a financial instrument is based purely on equity (as in equity-based sukuk), the incentive to shift the risk can be mitigated. Research limitations/implications Global awareness of the dangers of debt should be increased as a means of reducing the amount of debt outstanding globally. Although some regulators suggest that sukuk replace debt, they must also be aware that imitative sukuk pose the same threat to efforts to avoid debt. In short, efforts to ensure future financial stability cannot address only debts or bonds but must also address those types of sukuk that mirror bonds in their operation. In the wake of the global financial crisis, amid the frantic search for ways of protecting against future financial shocks, this analysis aims to help create future stability by encouraging market players to avoid debt-based activities. Originality/value This paper differs from the previous literature in two important ways, viewing risk shifting behavior not only in relation to debt or bonds but also when set against debt-based sukuk, which has been subjected to similar criticism. Indeed, to the extent that debts and bonds encourage risk shifting behavior and threaten the entire financial system, so, too, can imitation sukuk or debt-based sukuk. Second, this paper is unique in exploring the ability of equity features to curb equity holders’ incentive to engage in risk shifting behavior. Such an examination is necessary for the wake of the global financial crisis, for researchers and economists now agree that risk shifting must be a controlled behavior – and that one way of controlling risk shifting is by implementing the risk sharing feature of equity-based financing into the financial system.


2015 ◽  
Vol 2015 ◽  
pp. 1-9
Author(s):  
Yufeng Li ◽  
Zhongfei Li

Since the global financial crisis of 2007-2008, the importance of the procyclicality in the banking sector has been highlighted. One of the Basel III objectives is to promote countercyclical buffers and reduce procyclicality. We apply time-varying copula combined with GARCH model to test the existence of asymmetric procyclicality of Chinese banking. The results show that the procyclicality of Chinese banking is asymmetric, where the dependence between loan and economy growth is more correlated during the decline stage than the rise stage of economy. Based on this asymmetry, we suggest that the authority can use high frequent index for signalling the start point of releasing countercyclical buffer and accelerate the releasing pace to avoid the supply of credit being constrained by regulatory capital requirements in downturns.


2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 75-93
Author(s):  
Deniz Anginer ◽  
Asli Demirgüç-Kunt ◽  
Davide Salvatore Mare

This paper examines changes in bank capital and capital regulations since the global financial crisis, in the Europe and Central Asia region. It shows that banks in Europe and Central Asia are better capitalized, as measured by regulatory capital ratios, than they were prior to the crisis. However, the increase in simple equity ratios for the same banks has been smaller over the past 10 years. The increases in regulatory capital ratios have coincided with a reduction in the stringency of the definition of Tier 1 capital and reduction in risk-weights. We further analyze the relationship between bank capital and bank risk using individual bank data. We show that bank risk in Europe and Central Asia is more sensitive to changes in simple leverage ratios than changes in regulatory capital ratios, consistent with the notion that equity ratios only include high-quality capital and do not rely on internal risk models to compute risk-weights. Although there has been some effort to increase capital and liquidity requirements for institutions deemed systemically important, the region has been lagging in addressing the resolution of these institutions. In line with Demirguc-Kunt, Detragiache, and Merrouche (2013), our findings show the importance of the definition of bank capital to assure bank financial stability in Europe and Central Asia.


Author(s):  
Mishari M. Alfraih

Purpose Motivated by the increased attention on intellectual capital reporting (ICR) from regulatory bodies, practitioners, and researchers and the recent calls for companies to supplement and complement their traditional financial statements with intellectual capital (IC) disclosure, the purpose of this paper is to investigate the drivers of ICR among the companies listed on the Kuwait Stock Exchange (KSE). Design/methodology/approach Content analysis was applied to the annual reports of all companies listed on the KSE in 2013. A multiple regression analysis was employed to explore the ICR drivers. Findings Despite the growing importance of ICR in capital markets, the study findings reveal an overall relatively low level of ICR among KSE-listed companies. In addition, the level of ICR varies significantly between companies. The results show that the level of ICR for all KSE-listed companies in 2013 ranged from 0 to 96 percent and the mean was 28 percent. The multiple regression analysis suggests that older, highly leveraged, larger, and profitable KSE-listed companies are associated with higher levels of ICR. Industrial sector is a partial driver. Practical implications Surprisingly, many of the KSE-listed companies do not disclose any IC information in their annual reports. Given the increasingly important role that IC information plays in capital markets, regulatory bodies should encourage, stimulate, and guide companies to report IC information. The findings offer insights as to the drivers of ICR that should improve efforts to develop recommendations that push for greater IC disclosure in corporate annual reports. Originality/value The study is the first examination of ICR drivers in Kuwait. It contributes to the literature by providing empirical evidence about ICR in a market with specific economic, social, and cultural characteristics. It enhances our understanding of ICR by revealing some of its drivers.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Faisal Abbas ◽  
Adnan Bashir

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to investigate the impact of leverage, regulatory capital and tier-I capital ratios on the ex ante and ex post risk of Japanese banks.Design/methodology/approachTo test the hypotheses, the authors have implemented a panel of 507 commercial and cooperative banks of Japan over the period extending from 2001 to 2020, using a two-step system Generalized Method of Moments (GMM) framework.FindingsThe overall sample banks' results show that the impact of leverage, regulatory capital and tier-I capital ratios on ex ante and ex post risk is positive. The findings reveal that the effects of regulatory and tier-I capital ratios on ex post risk are negative (positive) for commercial (cooperative) banks, high-liquid, low-liquid and high-growth banks in Japan. In addition, the regulatory capital ratio is more beneficial for risk due to its power to absorb losses. The lagged coefficient indicates that banks require more time to adjust their ex post and ex ante risk during crisis period than during normal economic conditions.Practical implicationsThe heterogeneity in results has practical implications for regulators, policymakers and bank managers in formulating the capital requirement guidelines with respect to ex ante and ex post risk across different categories and characteristics of banks.Originality/valueTo the best of the authors' knowledge, this is the first study investigating the impact of leverage, regulatory capital and tier-I capital ratios on the ex ante and ex-post risk of Japanese commercial and cooperative banks over the period from 2001 to 2020. The insights into the impact of leverage, regulatory capital and tier-I capital ratios on the ex ante and ex post risk of well-capitalized, under-capitalized, high and low-liquid banks are new in the context of Japan.


2015 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 51-67 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kimie Harada ◽  
Takeo Hoshi ◽  
Masami Imai ◽  
Satoshi Koibuchi ◽  
Ayako Yasuda

Purpose – This paper aims to understand Japan’s financial regulatory responses after the global financial crisis and recession. Japan’s post-crisis reactions show two seemingly opposing trends: collaboration with international organizations to strengthen the regulation to maintain financial stability, and regulatory forbearance for the banks with troubled small and medium enterprise [SME] borrowers. The paper evaluates the responses by the Japanese financial regulators in five areas (Basel III, stress tests, over-the-counter [OTC] derivatives regulation, recovery and resolution planning and banking policy for SME lending) and concludes that the effectiveness of the new regulations for financial stability critically depends on the willingness of the regulators to use the new tools. Design/methodology/approach – This report evaluates the post-crisis responses by the Japanese financial authorities in five dimensions (Basel III, stress tests, OTC derivatives regulations, recovery and resolution planning and bank supervision). Findings – The effectiveness of the new regulations for financial stability critically depends on the willingness of the regulators to use the new tools. Originality/value – The paper is the first attempt to evaluate the financial regulatory trends in Japan after the global financial crisis.


2020 ◽  
Vol 28 (4) ◽  
pp. 569-586 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pietro Vozzella ◽  
Giampaolo Gabbi

Purpose This analysis asks whether regulatory capital requirements capture differences in systematic risk for large firms and micro-, small- and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs). The authors explore whether bank capital regulations intended to support SMEs’ access to borrowing are effective. The purpose of this paper is to find out whether the regulatory design (particularly the estimate of asset correlations) positively affects the lending process to small and medium enterprises, compared to large corporates. Design/methodology/approach The authors investigate the appropriateness of bank capital requirements considering default risk of loans to MSMEs and distortions in capital charges between MSMEs and large firms under the Basel III framework. The authors compiled firm-level data to capture the proportions of MSMEs and large firms in Italy during 2000–2014. The data set is drawn from financial reports of 708,041 firms over 15 years. Unlike most empirical studies that correlate assets and defaults, this study assesses a firm’s creditworthiness not by agency ratings or by sampling banks but by a specific model to estimate one-year probabilities of default. Findings The authors found that asset correlations increase with firms’ size and that large firms face considerably greater systematic risk than MSMEs. However, the empirical values are much lower than regulatory values. Moreover, when the authors focused on the MSME segment, systematic risk is rather stable and varies significantly with turnover. This analysis showed that the regulatory supporting factor represents a valuable attempt to treat MSME loans more fairly with respect to banks’ capital requirements. Basel III-internal ratings-based approach results show that when the supporting factor is applied, the Risk-Weighted-Assets (RWA) differences between MSMEs and large firms increase. Research limitations/implications The implications of this research is that banking regulators to make MSMEs support more effective should review asset correlation estimation criteria, refining the fitting with empirical evidence. Practical implications The asset correlation parameter stipulated by the Basel framework is invariant with economic cycles, decreases with borrowers’ probability of default and increases with borrowers’ assets. The authors found that those relations do not hold. This way, asset correlations fall below parameters defined by regulatory formula, and SMEs’ credit risk could be overstated, resulting in a capital crunch. Originality/value The original contribution of this paper is to demonstrate that the gap between empirical and regulatory capital charge remains high. When the authors examined the Basel III-IRBA, results showed that when the supporting factor is applied, the RWA differences between MSMEs and large firms increase. This is particularly strong for loans to small- and medium-sized companies. Correctly calibrating asset correlations associated with the supporting factor eliminates regulatory distortions, reducing the gap in capital charges between loans to large corporate and MSMEs.


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