Designing Bankers’ Pay: Using Contingent Capital to Reduce Risk-Shifting Incentives

Including contingent convertible bonds (coco) in the capital structure of a bank affects the sensitivity to risk of its equity-based compensation. Such risk-shifting incentives can be reduced if the coco bonds are well-designed. Similarly, we show that compensating executives with well-designed coco bonds can also reduce risk-shifting incentives. In practice, however, most coco bonds have characteristics that result in both stock and coco compensation having large sensitivities to changes in asset risk — equity-based compensation encourages executives to increase risk, coco compensation to reduce risk. We show that a pay package combining both stock and coco can practically eliminate risk-shifting incentives and that it can be implemented with a bank’s preexisting coco bonds.

Contingent capital and performance of hydroelectric energy projects in Kenya

The purpose of the study was to examine how contingent capital influences the performance of hydroelectric energy projects in Kenya. The study was underpinned on pragmatism paradigm which allows the use of a mixed-method approach and descriptive correlational survey research design. Structured questionnaires and interview guides were used for the collection of quantitative and qualitative data from a sample size of 94 participants out of a target population of 94 subjects. A validity test was done on the instruments and a coefficient of 0.775 obtained using the Content Validity Index while reliability involved pretesting of the instruments amongst the 10% of the participants and Cronbach's alpha coefficient of 0.781 obtained. The analysis was done using both descriptive statistics of mean and standard deviation and inferential statistics of Correlation and Regression at a significance level of 0.05 with the aid of SPSS version 25 and thematic content analysis of qualitative data for triangulation. The hypothesis was tested using Simple linear regression and Pearson Correlation Coefficient models and the result was: H0: Contingent capital does not significantly influence the performance of hydroelectric energy projects in Kenya was rejected since P=0.000<0.05. Therefore, the study concluded that there is a significant influence of contingent capital on the performance of hydroelectric energy projects in Kenya. The study provides valuable knowledge on the effectiveness of contingent capital on the performance of hydroelectric energy projects for policy action and adoption by investors. It is recommended that Project management and policymakers should integrate Contingent capital to improve the performance of hydroelectric energy projects besides developing targeted policies for strengthening the implementation of contingent capital. Further research should be carried out on mechanisms of improving utilization of contingent capital in power projects in Kenya

Contingent Capital Trigger Effects: Evidence from Liability Management Exercises

This paper studies liability management exercises (LME) by banks, which have comparable regulatory capital effects than contingent capital triggers. LMEs are concentrated on low capitalization situations, both in the cross-section and in the time series and are frequently associated with equity issuances. These exercises prove effective at improving bank capitalization levels. The market reaction to LMEs is positive and mostly accrues to debt holders. These findings strengthen the case for innovative liabilities securities as a tool to improve bank resilience.Received February 8, 2019; editorial decision May 16, 2019 by Editor Andrew Ellul. Authors have furnished an Internet Appendix, which is available on the Oxford University Press Web site next to the link to the final published paper online.