Do foreign ownership and home-host country distance matter? Evidence on the impact of bank market power on liquidity creation in a selected Southeast Asian country

This paper examines the roles of foreign ownership and home-host country distance in the impact of bank market power on bank liquidity creation in a selected Southeast Asian country (Malaysia) over the period 2001−2017. A key finding is that the impact of market power on liquidity creation is either significantly negative or insignificant for domestic banks, but is significantly positive for foreign banks, irrespective of the liquidity creation measures used. This finding points to evidence of “home-field advantage” of domestic banks as the banks possess greater ability to withstand interest margin compression, while competing with foreign banks in liquidity creation market. Moreover, this paper finds that foreign banks originated from countries with cultural, economic and institutional distance to the host country require greater market power to boost their liquidity creation performance, as compared to their domestic counterparts. Further analysis also indicates that the influence of host-home country distance is more evident among small foreign banks which have lower franchise value. Overall, the findings of this paper suggest that although bank competition policies may promote customer welfare, foreign banks should be granted with some degree of market power in the host country to help alleviating the banks’ operational challenges arising from home-host country distance.     

Bank market power,asset liquidity and funding liquidity: International evidence

Our investigation of the association between bank market power and liquidity in 101 countries reveals that a bank's initial gains of market power lead to increases in bank liquidity, but does so at a diminishing rate. Beyond an empirically determined threshold, further increases in market power are inversely associated with bank liquidity. From a cross-sectional viewpoint, banks that lack market power hold more liquid assets and are net lenders in the interbank market. In contrast, dominant banks hold less liquid assets and are net interbank borrowers. For a given level of market power, ceteris paribus, developed nation banks hold less asset liquidity and obtain more interbank funding liquidity than their developing country peers. These results remain equally relevant during the 2007–2009 global financial crisis (GFC).     

What types of banks profit most from fees charged? A cross-country examination of bank-specific and country-level determinants

The perception that banks are exploiting customers through their fee-charging practices in a bid to maximize profits, has fuelled widespread public interest in identifying the banks that profit most heavily from fees. Using hierarchical cross-country regression analyses, this paper seeks to answer the question – what types of banks profit most from fees charged? It also highlights the country level factors that influence banks’ ability to profit from fees charged. The factors at the country level distinguish between those that relate specifically to the financial services industry and broader macroeconomic indicators. The paper also identifies three channels through which national culture impacts banks’ ability to make high profits from fees. This paper uses the most comprehensive set of explanatory variables in studies of this nature. It has also extended the spatial scope of previous studies on bank fees by including data on banks from 46 developed and developing countries. In light of swelling public pressure on governments to do ‘something’ about bank fees, ill-advised measures are highlighted.     

Determinants of the capital adequacy ratio of foreign banks’ subsidiaries: The role of interbank market and regulation

This paper examines the factors influencing the capital adequacy ratio (CAR) of foreign banks. We test whether the CAR of subsidiaries and branches in developed and developing countries depends on the same factors. We use data from 310 subsidiaries and 265 branches to test the impact of the parent banks’ fundamentals on subsidiaries’ and branches’ capital ratios. We also study how the economic condition and regulatory environment in a bank's home country determine foreign banks’ CAR. Our results provide strong evidence that the CAR of subsidiaries and branches operating in developing and developed countries do not depend on the same set of explanatory factors. We also find that the regulatory framework of a parent bank's home country affects the capitalization of its foreign subsidiaries in the host countries. Finally, we show that specific variables of the parent bank have a stronger effect for foreign banks highly related to the interbank market.     

Foreign bank entry and bank competition: Cross-country heterogeneity

This study investigates the impact of foreign bank entry on bank competition in the host countries. Using data for 148 countries over 1987–2015, I find that although on average an increase in the number of foreign banks is associated with more competition in the host country, competition increases in developed but decreases in developing countries. Stringent capital requirements, higher market entry barriers, and effective credit information sharing can mitigate the impact of foreign bank entry, while better supervision and external governance strengthen the link between foreign bank presence and competition. The findings justify the regulations on bank capital adequacy and call for an effective credit information sharing mechanism.     

Bank globalization and efficiency: Host- and home-country effects

Analyzing 126 countries for 1995–2013, we investigate the link between bank globalization and efficiency from the perspective of both host and home countries. We find strong and consistent evidence that foreign bank entry is associated with lower efficiency in host countries (host-country effect), while foreign expansion in the banking sector improves the efficiency of banks at home (home-country effect). We further observe that the effect of bank globalization is dependent on the regulatory and institutional regimes of the respective host (home) countries. Specifically, stringent activity restrictions, tight supervision, fewer limitations on foreign banks, lower market entry barriers, and less government interference all help mitigate the efficiency loss from foreign bank entry. Less supervision power, multiple supervisors, more restrictions on foreign banks, and a competitive banking market are all conducive to the higher efficiency gain of incumbent domestic banks from the respective country’s outward investments in the banking sector. Moreover, we find that the adverse impact on efficiency from foreign bank presence is less pronounced for less risky, more profitable, and larger banks, while banks that are more efficient, more profitable, taking on more risk, and/or smaller gain more efficiency from their country’s foreign expansion.     

银行市值的重要性与中国银行业估值偏低的讨论

中国大型银行股改上市后的规模和利润增长很快,核心指标也基本上与国际银行比肩,但估值水平却低于美国的银行同业。虽然业界对于银行的评价方法一直备受争议,越来越多的人已经意识到,资产规模、盈利能力、资产质量等评价指标只能反映银行某一方面的能力,不能全面反映银行的综合实力和竞争力;相对而言,市值指标是一种长期趋势性判断,隐含了不同银行在盈利能力、产品定价、风险管控以及公司治理等可持续核心竞争能力方面的差异,代表着市场对一家银行发展前景的综合认知。我们在理论分析和实践观察中深切感到:投资者和银行管理层都必须正确理解市值,了解即期市值形成机制,不应该被短期银行市值波动所困惑,更不应该被左右,但必须重视银行市值变化发出的信号,理性判断银行价值,有针对性地提升银行管理能力。     

Competition versus efficiency: What drives franchise values in European banking?

This paper investigates how stock market investors perceive the impact of market structure and efficiency on the long-run performance potential of European banks. To that end, a modified Tobin’s Q ratio is introduced as a measure of bank franchise value. This measure is applied to discriminate between the market structure and efficient-structure hypotheses in a coherent forward-looking framework, in which differences in banks’ horizontal and vertical differentiation strategies are controlled for. The results show that banks with better management or production technologies possess a long-run competitive advantage. In addition, bank market concentration does not affect all banks equally. Only the banks with a large market share in a concentrated market are able to generate non-competitive rents. The paper further documents that the forward-looking, long-run perspective and the noise-adjustment of the performance measure overcome most of the drawbacks associated with testing these hypotheses in a multi-country set-up. Finally, notwithstanding the international expansion of bank activities, the harmonization of regulation and the macroeconomic convergence in the European Union (EU15), we still find that country-specific macroeconomic variables have a significant impact on bank performance. The findings indicate that there is a trade-off between competition and stability that should be taken into account when assessing mergers or acquisitions.     

Banking crises and market discipline: International evidence

This paper analyzes the effect of banking crises on market discipline in an international sample of banks. We also evaluate how bank regulation, supervision, institutions, and crisis intervention policies shape the effect of banking crises on market discipline. We control for unobservable bank, country, and time specific effects using a panel data set of banks from 66 countries around 79 banking crises. The results suggest that on average market discipline weakens after a banking crisis. This weakening is higher in countries where bank regulation, supervision, and institutions promoted market discipline before the banking crisis, and where a more accommodative approach is adopted to resolve it.     

The relationship between corporate governance and foreign ownership of the banks in developing countries

The aim of this paper is to determine the effect of corporate governance on foreign ownership of the banks. Within this context, annual data of 65 developing countries for the periods between 2004 and 2013 was analyzed. In addition to this situation, 7 explanatory variables were used in this study in order to achieve this objective. As a result of the analysis, it was identified that there is a strong relationship between operations of foreign banks and governance levels of the countries. In this regard, it was determined that the factors of corruption, political stability, rule of law and flexibility in legal regulations affect foreign bank operations. Moreover, it was also analyzed that foreign bank operations are stronger in the countries that have low poverty, high political stability and efficient legal infrastructure. On the other hand, it was defined that strict legal regulation affects foreign bank operations negatively which shows that foreign banks prefer to enter into the countries that have flexible legal regulations. This study gives essential information to developing countries about the factors that affect the decisions of foreign banks in order to enter into a developing country. Therefore, by considering the results of this study, the authorities of these countries can have a chance to take necessary actions so as to attract foreign banks.     

Foreign Banks: Trends and Impact

Over the past two decades, foreign banks have become much more important in domestic financial intermediation, heightening the need to understand their behavior. We introduce a new, comprehensive database, made publicly available, on bank ownership (including the home country of foreign banks) for 5,324 banks in 137 countries over the period 1995–2009. We document large increases in foreign bank presence in many countries, but with substantial heterogeneity in terms of host and banks’ home countries, bilateral investment patterns, and bank characteristics. In terms of impact, we document that the relation between private credit and foreign bank presence importantly depends on host country and banks’ characteristics. Specifically, foreign banks only seem to have a negative impact on credit in low‐income countries, in countries where they have a limited market share, where enforcing contracts is costly and where credit information is limited available, and when they come from distant home countries. This shows that accounting for heterogeneity, including bilateral ownership, is crucial to better understand the implications of foreign bank ownership.     

Are foreign banks more profitable than domestic banks? Home- and host-country effects of banking market structure, governance, and supervision

Using both bank- and country-level data on banking sectors from 70 countries over the period 1992-2006, this paper empirically investigates the joint home- and host-country effects of banking market structure, macroeconomic condition, governance, and changes in bank supervision on foreign bank margins. We find that foreign banks are more profitable than domestic banks when they operate in a host country whose banking sector is less competitive and when the parent bank in the home country is highly profitable. Moreover, when foreign banks operate in a host country with lower growth rates of GDP, higher interest and inflation rates, and more stringent regulatory compliance with Basel risk weights, their margins increase. Specifically, changes in bank supervision of a parent bank’s ownership restrictiveness in the home country significantly increases foreign bank margins, while supervisory changes in regulatory compliance with Basel risk weights in the host country enhances foreign bank margins.     

我国商业银行运行效率的DEA实证分析

本文采用DEA的基本模型对我国12家商业银行2004年和2005年的总效率、纯技术效率和规模效率进行了实证分析。结果表明,规模大的国有商业银行总效率要高于股份制商业银行。银行资产规模是影响商业银行运行效率的重要因素,市场份额与银行效率呈正相关,商业银行规模过小或规模过大导致的规模不经济同时存在。     

Domestic and multinational determinants of foreign bank profits: The case of Greek banks operating abroad

This paper examines the determinants of profits of Greek banks operating abroad by developing an integrated model that includes a set of determinants informed by the literature on the profitability of both multinational and domestic banks. The basis for our econometric analysis is provided by an unbalanced panel dataset for 19 Greek bank subsidiaries operating in 11 nations, covering the period from 1995 to 2001. The results show that the profitability of the parent bank and the operating experience of its host nation subsidiaries have a robust and positive impact on the profits of Greek banks abroad, whereas subsidiary bank size has a negative effect. Domestic financial factors reflecting stock market developments, bank-specific factors such as liquidity, loan loss provisions or cost efficiency, and market specific factors like concentration or market share in the host nations, are all insignificant in explaining Greek subsidiary banks’ profits.     

Diversification of geographic risk in retail bank networks: evidence from bank expansion after the Riegle‐Neal Act

The 1994 Riegle‐Neal Act (RN) removed restrictions on branch‐network expansion for banks in the United States. An important motivation was to facilitate geographic risk diversification (GRD). Using a factor model to measure banks' geographic risk, we show that RN expanded GRD possibilities in small states, but only some large banks took advantage. Using our measure of geographic risk and an empirical model of branch‐network choice, we identify preferences toward GRD separately from other factors possibly limiting network expansion. Counterfactuals show that risk negatively affected bank value but was counterbalanced by economies of density/scale, reallocation/merging costs, and local market power concerns.     

The Determinants of Bank Capital Ratios in a Developing Economy

This paper reports new findings on the determinants of bank capital ratios. The results are from an unbalanced panel data set spanning eight years around the period of the 1997–1998 Asian financial crisis. Test results suggest a strong positive link between regulatory capital and bank management’s risk-taking behaviour. The risk-based capital standards of the regulators did not have an influence on how regulatory capital is adjusted by low-capitalized banks, perhaps due to the well-documented banking fragility during the test period. Finally, bank capital decisions seem not to be driven by bank profitability, which finding is inconsistent with developed country literature that has for long stressed the importance of banks’ earnings as driving capital ratios. Although the study focuses only on one developing economy, these findings may help to identify the correlates of bank capital ratios in both developed and developing economies since this topic has received scant attention of researchers. These findings are somewhat consistent with how banks engaging in risky lending across the world could have brought on the 2007–2008 banking liquidity and capital erosion crisis.     

The impact of competition on the operations of foreign banks in Australia in the post-deregulation period

In 1985, Australia removed its long-standing embargo on the entry of foreign banks. The Australian market therefore provides an opportunity to study the factors influencing multinational bank expansion in a new host country. This paper tests a model of the size of multinational banking operations in Australia in the post-embargo period. One major finding is that a push for market share in a highly competitive environment led to risky lending practices in the global boom-bust economic climate of the late 1980s, which adversely affected the foreign banks’ performance. Another is that competition from home country banks had a significantly negative effect on foreign banks’ asset volumes.     

从国开行的统贷模式探讨中小企业融资难题

中国中小企业的组织形式、企业规模等因素,决定了股票和债券市场不可能成为其有效的融资渠道。没有足够的可抵押资产及相应的担保更无法获得银行贷款。国家开发银行开创性的创造出了一个开放性的融资体系。这个融资体系包括一个向中小企业提供贷款的平台和一个为贷款提供担保的平台。这种开放式融资体系中的贷款模式有效的破解了中小企业融资市场中的规模难题、软信息难题及担保难题,为商业银行提供了有效借鉴。