Have SFAS 166 and SFAS 167 improved the financial reporting for securitizations?

Critics have alleged that securitization accounting prior to 2010 was among the causes of the recent financial crisis. In response to this criticism, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) implemented two new accounting standards, SFAS 166 and SFAS 167, to improve the financial reporting for securitizations. Bank regulators have stated their belief that SFAS 166/167 will result in a consolidated balance sheet (and risk-based capital ratios based thereupon) that better reflects a bank's exposure to risk related to securitized assets. We document that, by ceding retained power or influence through the servicing/special servicing functions to third parties, SFAS 166/167 resulted in real effects to the extent that banks (particularly those that were weakly capitalized) achieved their accounting objectives in the post-SFAS 166/167 period through legitimate transaction structuring in line with the intent of the new rules. Further, we use capital market participants’ assessments of risk retention by sponsoring banks as a benchmark, and provide evidence consistent with bank regulators’ beliefs. In particular, following SFAS 166/167, equity investors of sponsoring banks do not consider (consider) as risk relevant securitized assets that receive off-balance sheet (on-balance sheet) treatment. Securitized assets that are consolidated under SFAS 166/167 exhibit the same risk relevance as assets that are not securitized, despite contractual provisions that would seem to imply substantial risk transfer.     

Is the realized volatility good for option pricing during the recent financial crisis?

The contributions of this paper are threefold. The first contribution is the proposed logarithmic HAR (log-HAR) option-pricing model, which is more convenient compared with other option pricing models associated with realized volatility in terms of simpler estimation procedure. The second contribution is the test of the empirical implications of heterogeneous autoregressive model of the realized volatility (HAR)-type models in the S&P 500 index options market with comparison of the non-linear asymmetric GARCH option-pricing model, which is the best model in pricing options among generalized autoregressive conditional heteroskedastic-type models. The third contribution is the empirical analysis based on options traded from July 3, 2007 to December 31, 2008, a period covering a recent financial crisis. Overall, the HAR-type models successfully predict out-of-sample option prices because they are based on realized volatilities, which are closer to the expected volatility in financial markets. However, mixed results exist between the log-HAR and the heterogeneous auto-regressive gamma models in pricing options because the former is better than the latter in times of turmoil, whereas it is worse during the rather stable periods.     

Can the evolution of implied volatility be forecasted? Evidence from European and US implied volatility indices

We address the question whether the evolution of implied volatility can be forecasted by studying a number of European and US implied volatility indices. Both point and interval forecasts are formed by alternative model specifications. The statistical and economic significance of these forecasts is examined. The latter is assessed by trading strategies in the recently inaugurated CBOE volatility futures markets. Predictable patterns are detected from a statistical point of view. However, these are not economically significant since no abnormal profits can be attained. Hence, the hypothesis that the volatility futures markets are efficient cannot be rejected.     

Have changes in the financial structure affected bank profitability? Evidence for Austria

We examine the impact of changes in the financial structure of the Austrian banking sector over the past 15 years, such as disintermediation, internationalization and privatization, on the profitability of banks. Several proxies based on bank balance sheet data at the micro-level as well as macroeconomic variables are used to capture these changes. The case of Austria is particularly interesting because the opening up of the Austrian banking sector due to EU accession and the strong engagement of Austrian banks in Eastern Europe coincided with the global trend toward deregulation of banking activities. Our estimation results, which are based on dynamic panel regression methods, indicate that disintermediation (a lower percentage of loans over total assets) and higher market concentration in the banking sector had a positive effect on bank profitability, while changes in the ownership structure (privatization and increased foreign ownership) as well as more foreign lending by Austrian banks did not have a clear-cut or significant impact on bank profits.     

Asymmetric information,volatility components and the volume–volatility relationship for the CAC40 stocks

This paper investigates the relationship between trading volume components and various realized volatility measures for the CAC40 index constituents. A mixture-of-distribution model is used to decompose trading volume into informed and liquidity components. Realized volatility is broken down into continuous volatility and jumps. Our findings confirm the strong positive contemporaneous relationship between total trading volume and volatility when realized volatility and its continuous component are considered. A limited evidence of the effect of total trading volume on discontinuous volatility is found. The positive volume–volatility relationship is mainly driven by the informed component of trading volume. Conversely, liquidity volume is negatively related to realized volatility lending some support to the view that liquidity trading dampens the volatility of stock returns. A stronger negative relationship between liquidity volume and volatility jump is uncovered.     

Returns and volatility spillover in the European banking industry during global financial crisis: Flight to perceived quality or contagion?

This paper empirically investigates return, volatility and leverage spillover effects between banking industrial stock markets of the major economies (ME) (Germany, UK and US) and the smaller stressed European Union countries (SE), (Italy, Ireland, Greece, Spain and Portugal) from 2002 to 2014 which includes the global financial crisis period (2007–2014). Thus the paper investigates the influence of the global crisis on the spillover between the banking industrial stock markets of Europe and the US. We apply a multivariate GARCH–GJR framework to investigate the effects of the financial crisis with respect to spillover. Our results indicate an increase in both means and volatility spillover between the major economies and the stressed EU economies from the pre-crisis to the crisis period. During the pre-crisis period there is ample evidence of spillover from Germany, UK and the US to the smaller EU economies. Little evidence of a significant spillover from the smaller economies to the major economies is found during this period. We find that return and volatility transmission mechanisms between the major economies and the smaller EU countries are asymmetric during the crisis period. During the crisis, the level and amount of spillover from the major economies increase. But now there is also clear evidence of spillover from smaller EU economies to the major economies, this is especially true for Germany and the UK. Evidence of spillover effects suggests the existence of exploitable trading strategies and has important implications to investors in the areas of option pricing, portfolio optimization and risk management.     

How do financial globalization,institutions and economic growth impact financial sector development in European countries?

This paper examines the role of financial globalization, institutions and economic growth on the development of financial sector in European countries. We use panel data covering the period of 1989−2016. Using the composite index of financial development covers various dimensions of financial market, that is, depth, access and efficiency and four-way classification of institutions as suggested by Rodrik (2005) and Law et al. (2018), the empirical results indicate that economic growth and institutional quality are positively associated with financial development. Contrarily, financial globalization hinders the process of financial sector development. The results are robust to using alternative proxies of economic growth, institutional indicators and capturing the period of financial crisis. These empirical findings suggest policy guidelines to develop financial sector by using globalization, institutional quality and economic growth as economic tools.     

The Global Financial Crisis and the European Single Market: The end of integration?

Using various versions of the Feldstein-Horioka (FH) coefficient, we measure the time-varying degree of capital mobility and economic integration in the European Union. Prior research shows high correlation between domestic investment and savings implying low capital mobility. This surprising result has led to subsequent research on the ‘Feldstein-Horioka puzzle’. Our empirical findings show that the puzzle is less puzzling with a coefficient of 0.52 in the period 1990–1995 in EU countries approaching its minimum value of 0.02 in the period 2003–2008. This clearly indicates that the FH coefficient is time-varying signalling a deepening of economic integration in the European Union. Yet, with the advent of the Global Financial Crisis the FH coefficient has increased to 0.26 underlining worrying signs of disintegration.     

How is the IFRS for SME accepted in the European context? An analysis of the homogeneity among European countries,users and preparers in the European commission questionnaire

In this paper we analyze the answers to the “Questionnaire on the public consultation of the IFRS for SMEs”, promoted by the European Commission. Our aim is to evaluate the homogeneity among respondents, according to the different perspectives of analysis between both users, preparers and also in European Countries. Results show a substantial diversity among respondents. In particular, preparers demonstrate a strong opposition to the IFRS for SMEs, while users are more favorable. Concerning Country classification, German-speaking Countries and Latin Countries show much less appreciation for that standard with respect to Anglo − Nordic Countries. Relevant consequences for European public policy issues and for accounting studies on differential reporting arise from this result, concerning respectively the role of European accounting system and the acceptance of “user primacy” principle.     

Does global economic uncertainty matter for the volatility and hedging effectiveness of Bitcoin?

We assess whether the long-run volatilities of Bitcoin, global equities, commodities, and bonds are affected by global economic policy uncertainty. Empirical results provide evidence supporting this hypothesis, except in the case of bonds. For Bitcoin investors, the results imply the ability to use information about the state of global economic uncertainty to enhance the predictions of Bitcoin volatility. We further examine whether the correlation between Bitcoin and global equities, commodities, and bonds are affected by global economic policy uncertainty. Empirical results reveal that global economic policy uncertainty has a negative significant impact on the Bitcoin-bonds correlation and a positive impact on both Bitcoin-equities and Bitcoin-commodities correlations, suggesting the possibility of Bitcoin acting as a hedge under specific economic uncertainty conditions. Interestingly, the hedging effectiveness of Bitcoin for both global equities and global bonds enhances slightly after considering the level of global economic policy uncertainty. Such a weak effect of the state of global economic uncertainty on the hedging ability of Bitcoin implies that investors cannot substantially enhance the hedging performance of Bitcoin under different economic uncertainty conditions.     

Audit committee financial expertise,gender, and earnings management: Does gender of the financial expert matter?

The effectiveness of the presence of financial expertise on the audit committee (AC) in reducing earnings management has been the subject of many previous studies with mixed findings. This paper suggests that the mixed findings may be due to prior studies not distinguishing between the genders of the financial experts on the AC. We investigate how financial expertise affects earnings management taking into account the gender of the financial expert. We use the data of a sample of 5660 US firm-year observations from 2007 to 2013 which was analysed using least squares regressions clustering by firm. The results indicate that proportion of financial expertise on the AC and gender reduces earnings management. We then group the AC financial experts by gender, and examine whether the gender of the financial expert matters. The results show that the proportion of female financial experts on the AC is significantly associated with less earnings management while the proportion of male financial experts does not significantly affect earnings management; this suggests that previous studies indicating that the presence of a financial expert on the AC may have been influenced by gender of the female financial experts. Further, our findings may also partly explain the contradictory findings of prior studies on the effect of financial expertise on the ACs effectivness.     

How does corporate social responsibility affect financial performance,financial stability,and financial inclusion in the banking sector? Evidence from Pakistan

This paper examines the impact of corporate social responsibility (CSR) on the financial performance, financial inclusion, and financial stability of the banking sector, focusing on annual data for 20 Pakistani commercial banks for the period 2008–2017. The results suggest that CSR, as well as age and size, has a positive impact on all three factors. However, high levels of leverage reduce financial inclusion and financial stability, while financial inclusion is also negatively associated with the tangibility of assets.     

Does the strength of the legal systems matter for trade in insurance and financial services?

This paper investigates if the strength of the legal system impacts on the trade in insurance and financial services in the high-income OECD and developing countries. Our findings reveal a statistically significant positive correlation of rule of law and regulatory quality with the exports and imports of insurance and financial services. Our empirical findings also reveal a negative and statistically significant correlation of contract enforcement with the exports and imports of insurance and financial services. We conclude that strengthening the rule of law and contract enforcement mechanisms can facilitate higher levels of trade in insurance and financial services.     

Have ‘European’ and US GAAP measures of income and equity converged under IFRS? Evidence from European companies listed in the US

The EU's adoption of IFRS, combined with the SEC's removal of the US GAAP reconciliation requirement for non‐US registrants reporting under IFRS, signifies a major shift towards the acceptance of global standards. Based on 20‐F reconciliations provided by the population of US listed European companies filing IFRS‐based statements with the SEC in 2005, we examine whether ‘European’ and US GAAP measures of income and equity converged under IFRS. We find that during the period immediately preceding IFRS, for our sample companies, European and US GAAP measures are generally comparable in respect of income and equity. However, as an exception to the latter, we find that UK GAAP yielded significantly lower measures of equity than US GAAP For companies adopting IFRS for the first time in 2005, we find a significant gap between IFRS and US GAAP measures of income, thereby, signifying de facto divergence from US GAAP in regard to income determination. Furthermore, we find that, following IFRS adoption, significant differences with US GAAP equity persisted for companies that previously reported using UK GAAP. Our findings, thus, support critics’ claims that standard‐setters, most notably the IASB and FASB, have more work to do to achieve a sufficient degree of convergence between IFRS and US GAAP that will convince the SEC to require US companies to use IFRS.     

Did David win a battle or the war against Goliath? Dynamic return and volatility connectedness between the GameStop stock and the high short interest indices

Can a short-squeeze incident trigger financial contagion over heavily shorted companies? The recent GameStop frenzy provides a unique natural experiment to explore this question. This study examines the static and dynamic return and volatility connectedness among the GameStop stock, the novel market-wide and sectoral short-interest indices, and the U.S. stock market. Contrary to anecdotal evidence, we find that the GameStop stock is not a net transmitter but a net recipient of return and volatility spillovers from other companies shorted in the market. This result agrees with the view that short-interest indices provide price discovery for shorted stocks. Therefore, although David might have won a battle against Goliath, he does not seem to win the war.     

Home equity lines of credit and the unemployment rate: Have unemployed consumers borrowed themselves into the next financial crisis?

Some economists argue the recent recovery has been so meager because many consumers have lost their main source of income and maxed-out their home-equity borrowings. Further, banks that were able to make consumer loans did so with less security because home prices fell so dramatically. This paper argues that at least part of that recovery story is purely anecdotal and, in fact, incorrect. In spite of the precipitous decline in home prices, the original price increases were so large that many homeowners still have/had adequate equity in their homes to borrow. The paper presents evidence that the average quarterly increase in aggregate home equity line of credit (HELOC) lending after housing prices began their decline is, statistically, no different than the average quarterly increase in HELOC lending before housing prices began their downward trend. The evidence also suggests that increased HELOC lending during the recession is not correlated with higher unemployment.     

Do environmental variables affect the performance and technical efficiency of the European banking systems? A parametric analysis using the stochastic frontier approach

The paper compares the efficiency of the European banking systems in view of the constitution of the European Monetary Union. Since competition among banks will increase, it is important to identify the most efficient banking system able to play a role in that market. A parametric approach is adopted, based on the estimation of a stochastic cost frontier. This methodology enables one to measure X-inefficiency and to model it as a function of environmental variables which may influence firms' efficiency. By means of this analysis it is possible to identify the most efficient banking systems and to focus on the determinants of deviations from cost minimizing. The analysis highlights significant efficiency gaps among the performances of banks in different countries and of different institutional types. In particular, it is found that the Mittel-European model is the one that operates closest to the efficient frontier. This may indicate that, compared with separated banks, the universal banking system allows for production plans which come closer to the optimal frontier. The analysis suggests that, at the beginning of European Monetary Union, national barriers and regulatory frameworks are still responsible for deviation from the efficient frontiers.     

Is the relationship between investment and conditional cash flow volatility ambiguous,asymmetric or both?

We investigate the effect of cash flow volatility on investment. Our evidence suggests that financially constrained firms decrease investment (i) when experiencing persistently high volatility; (ii) when experiencing both high volatility and negative cash flow growth realisations; and (iii) when holding low cash levels and experiencing both high volatility and a negative cash flow growth realisations. In financially unconstrained firms, the above effects are either not found or are of relatively low economic importance. Overall, our findings lend support to the financial flexibility literature and tend to contradict predictions of the real options literature.     

Support for pension reforms: What is the role of financial literacy and pension knowledge?

Despite the relevance of the issue of pension system sustainability in most advanced economies, the factors associated with the opposition to pension reforms are still under-studied. In this paper, we investigate the correlation between financial, pension and institutional knowledge and support for pension reforms. Using an ad hoc module of the SHARE data for Italy, we find that financially literate and pension knowledgeable individuals are more willing to accept pension reforms. In particular, individuals with a basic level of pension knowledge recognize that population ageing, low economic growth, and low contributions by the young make the public pension system hardly sustainable.     

What Effect Did AIG's Bailout,and the Preceding Events,Have on Its Competitors?

We examine the effect of American International Group's (AIG) bailout, and the events leading up to it, on its insurance industry rivals. The reaction of rivals to AIG‐related events depends on the relative strength of two competing effects. The contagion effect implies that rival returns will decrease following negative events affecting AIG. In contrast, competitive effects will occur if investors expect that rivals will be able to benefit from AIG's downfall. Using three‐factor multivariate regression model event study methodology, we find evidence of both effects around several key dates in AIG's decline.