Non-performing loans in the euro area: Does bank market power matter?

In this study, we investigate the impact of bank market power on the change in NPL ratios in the euro area over the period 2005–2017 by employing a penalized quantile regression model for dynamic panel data. The results suggest that post-crisis consolidation facilitates the faster reduction of NPLs, especially in the euro area periphery countries, while competition discourages the growth of new NPLs. In addition, the presence of foreign banks is beneficial on its own and with respect to containing market power effects. Finally, while commercial banks create more NPLs, market power plays a moderating role.     

Turkish bank efficiency: Bayesian estimation with undesirable outputs

This paper analyzes the productivity and efficiency of Turkish banks from 2002 to 2010. We obtained estimates of efficiency, productivity growth and efficiency growth using a Bayesian stochastic frontier approach and focused on accounting for Non-Performing Loans (NPLs) for use in our model. Specifically, we introduce NPLs as a bad output in an input distance function, and estimate a system of non-linear equations subject to endogeneity. We confirm that the productivity growth of Turkish banks was positive over the period of this study, which was mainly due to the improvement in technology, while efficiency growth continued to be negative over the same period. Methodologically, we also prove that not accounting for NPLs in estimating the frontier model might seriously distort the efficiency and productivity results. The study also provides measures of shadow prices for NPL and discusses the results in terms of several interesting trends in Turkish banking. Finally, the paper provides efficiency and productivity comparisons between domestic and foreign banks.     

浅析新形势下商业银行不良资产化解之道

数据显示,全国银行业不良贷款增量仍然较大,且信贷风险呈现“区域集聚、行业集群”的特点。如何处置与化解历史不良贷款成为各商业银行亟需解决的一个重大问题。本文从目前商业银行对不良贷款的处置方式,提出国内商业银行应更加重视不良贷款管理,实现不良贷款管理模式、体制机制的优化。     

Macroeconomic and bank-specific determinants of non-performing loans in Greece: A comparative study of mortgage,business and consumer loan portfolios

This paper uses dynamic panel data methods to examine the determinants of non-performing loans (NPLs) in the Greek banking sector, separately for each loan category (consumer loans, business loans and mortgages). The study is motivated by the hypothesis that both macroeconomic and bank-specific variables have an effect on loan quality and that these effects vary between different loan categories. The results show that, for all loan categories, NPLs in the Greek banking system can be explained mainly by macroeconomic variables (GDP, unemployment, interest rates, public debt) and management quality. Differences in the quantitative impact of macroeconomic factors among loan categories are evident, with non-performing mortgages being the least responsive to changes in the macroeconomic conditions.     

New development: Can ‘public’ market-based solutions restore the banking system? The case of non-performing loans (NPLs)

The authors discuss how policy-makers could use new market-based solutions to dismantle NPLs. They examine viable solutions for NPLs and then study the Italian State Guarantee Scheme for NPL Securitization (GACS) to highlight how public actors could efficiently use public resources to solve the NPL problem.     

Labor cost voluntary disclosures and firm equity values: Is human capital information value-relevant?

This study examines the market value relevance of labor cost voluntary disclosures using a valuation model relating firm market values to book values of equity and to disclosed human capital information, such as labor costs, net pension liabilities (NPLs), and estimated average and marginal labor productivity and efficiency indicators. Results indicate that labor cost disclosing companies command higher equity market values in general, and that labor productivity and efficiency measures appear to be undervalued. Both findings suggest that there might be market opportunities for firms with valuable human capital to differentiate themselves from their industry peers, which might encourage further human capital disclosure in the future. More refined measures of human capital assets and investments are needed to assess firms’ human resource management decisions and performance impacts in the capital markets more adequately.     

Non-performing loans,moral hazard and regulation of the Chinese commercial banking system

Non-performing loans (NPLs) represent a major obstacle to the development of banking sector. One of the key objectives of the banking sector reforms in China has therefore been to reduce the high level of NPLs. To do so, Chinese regulatory authorities have injected significant capital into the banking system and scrutinized NPLs since 2003. This paper examines the impact of NPLs on bank behavior in China. Using a threshold panel regression model and a dataset covering 60 city commercial banks, 16 state-owned banks and joint-stock banks, and 11 rural commercial banks during 2006–2012, we test whether lending decisions of Chinese banks exhibit moral hazard. The results support the moral hazard hypothesis, suggesting that an increase in the NPLs ratio raises riskier lending, potentially causing further deterioration of the loan quality and financial system instability. Policy implications of findings are evaluated.     

The Cost of Bond Covenant Restrictions on the Disposition of Assets

The cost of bond covenants restricting the dispositions of assets are examined in this study. Using an option pricing framework, it is shown that the cost of compliance could be high if restrictions are placed on the sale of common stock holdings. Similar results can be obtained by using a simple cash flow approach when calculating the effect on restrictions on the sale of depreciable assets. These costs somewhat offset the tax advantages of debt.     

The Determinants of Nonperforming Loans Before and After the Crisis: Challenges and Policy Implications for Turkish Banks

This article examines the determinants of nonperforming loans (NPLs) in the Turkish banking sector via panel data estimation techniques. In order to see the effect of the global crisis and whether this effect changes across ownership, the analysis is conducted in subperiods covering the precrisis and the postcrisis periods and estimations are repeated by an ownership breakdown. Findings show that the determinants of NPLs have changed, and macroeconomic and policy-related determinants have higher significance after the crisis. Accordingly, strong economic activity and sound fiscal policy improve loan quality, while higher policy rate induces NPLs. Meanwhile, the significance of bank-specific determinants depends on ownership. Yet, a common theme applies suggesting that asset size should grow in favor of loans, but this should be backed with efficient loan monitoring, while capital adequacy is stringent enough to limit NPLs.     

商业银行不良贷款的宏观经济影响因素分析

商业银行不良贷款总额一直在高位徘徊,成为制约中国商业银行发展的重要因素之一.通过收集2004年1季度～2009年1季度的最新数据,运用相关分析、共线性诊断、主成分回归分析等方法建立模型,探讨宏观经济因素对商业银行不良贷款的影响和贡献率.由实证结论发现:宏观经济因素与不良贷款余额负相关;社会消费品零售总额、进出口总额对降低商业银行不良贷款的贡献度最大,每增加1%会导致不良贷款平均降低0.0249%和0.0248%;宏观经济因素对降低不良贷款有正向促进作用,因此,在操作层面上可通过扩大内需、改善商业银行的外部信用环境等措施间接降低商业银行的不良贷款.     

Consulting revenue sharing,auditor effort and independence,and the regulation of auditor compensation

The joint provision of audit and non-audit services by audit firms to their audit clients has posed a threat to auditor independence. To mitigate the independence problem, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued a regulation (SEC, 2003) that prohibits audit partners from receiving compensation for the sale of non-audit services to their audit clients. This study examines the effects of this regulatory change on the effort and reporting decisions of audit partners. We show that partners in an audit firm strategically change the firm’s liability-sharing rule. As a consequence, the regulation restores truthful reporting but has an undesirable negative effect on audit effort. The effect of the regulation on the welfare of the economy (defined as the total payoff to both audit firms and their clients) hinges on the tradeoff between the benefit of the regulation, which is derived from the inducement of truthful reporting, and the cost of the regulation, which results from less diligent audit work. We show that the regulation is more likely to increase the welfare in a strong legal regime (where the legal liability cost of auditor litigation is high) than in a weak legal regime.     

Is ex-post credit risk affected by the cycles? The case of Italian banks

The objective of this research is to empirically examine if both credit and business cycle affect the ex-post credit risk (i.e. non-performing loans) in the banking system of Italy for the period 1995Q1–2014Q1. The increase in NPLs post-2008 has put into question the robustness of many European banks and the stability of the whole sector. It still remains a serious challenge, especially in Italy which is one of the countries that hit by the financial crisis. By employing fixed and random effects and a dynamic GMM estimation as econometric methodologies I find results that underline common causes for NPLs. Higher NPLs in Italy are mostly due to worse macroeconomic conditions (i.e. bad phase of business cycle) and due to excess credit. Through a Granger causality test, my arguments found even more support. Such findings can be helpful when designing macro-prudential as well as NPL resolution policies.     

Does Fair Value Accounting Exacerbate the Procyclicality of Bank Lending?

This study investigates whether fair value accounting contributes to the procyclicality of bank lending. Using banks’ approval/denial decisions on residential mortgage applications to capture banks’ supply of credit, I find no evidence that fair value accounting has procyclical effects on bank lending over the past two business cycles. I further identify two reasons for this result. First, the main accounting item distinguishing fair value accounting from historical cost accounting—unrealized gains and losses on available‐for‐sale securities—does not affect lending decisions. Second, unrealized gains and losses on available‐for‐sale securities are not procyclical, as the risk‐free interest rate rises during some expansionary periods, resulting in unrealized losses, while the risk‐free interest rate (and sometimes the default spread) falls during some recessionary periods, resulting in unrealized gains.     

The integration of the real estate market and the stock market: Some preliminary evidence

The current study investigates whether the commercial real estate market is segmented from the stock market using the framework of Jorion and Schwartz (1986). Evidence is found to support the hypothesis that segmentation does exist as the result of indirect barriers such as the cost, amount, and quality of information for real estate rather than legal constraints. However, this evidence is contingent on whether real estate returns are computed with appraised values or imputed sale prices and on which market proxy is chosen.     

基于销售成本差异的制造商策略选择研究

本文以企业核心竞争能力理论和库存理论为基础,研究了由一个制造商和一个零售商组成的二级供应链中制造商的前向一体化策略与供应链策略的选择问题。假设需求不确定和供应链存在销售成本,当制造商和零售商向市场出售产品都发生销售成本且销售成本存在差异时,通过对制造商的利润比较分析发现,销售成本的差异决定了制造商供应链合作策略与前向一体化策略的选择。     

在滨海新区创新外资企业外债结汇管理方式的探讨

外资企业外债结汇管理是我国资本项目外汇管理的重要内容。是控制外资企业外债流入规模、流人速度和外债投向的重要手段;而创新实施外资企业外债结汇管理方式。则有简化外商投资企业的办事手续、降低经营成本等好处．该文首先探讨了在滨海新区创新外商投资项下外债结汇管理方式的可行性,进而对这一创新及其后续的监管工作做了具体的设想。     

对商业银行不良资产处置的几点思考

本文分析了国内商业银行不良资产处置面临的内外部环境变化;当前商业银行不良资产处置中存在的法律体系不够完备,相关管理办法不合理;社会信用环境依然欠佳,企业资本关联日趋复杂;不良资产处置理念、处置机制、处置手段与国际先进金融机构存在较大差距;不良资产估值定价手段欠科学,缺乏历史数据积累和模型建设;不良资产处置人员业务素质与日益复杂的处置要求不相适应等方面的问题.借鉴国内外金融机构不良资产处置的多种方式方法,针对性地提出加快商业银行不良资产处置的对策及建议,以此提升不良资产处置的效率和效益.     

Timing of Sale,Pricing, and Cost Information: Evidence from the Airline Industry*

This study examines the association between when an airline sells its passenger seats and the pricing method (marginal cost or full cost) it employs. Prior literature suggests that when firms are able to change prices during the selling period, the optimality of full cost pricing or marginal cost pricing depends on when demand information is revealed during the period between capacity commitment decisions and time of sale. Full cost‐based pricing is appropriate in determining capacity commitment and prices simultaneously, while marginal cost provides more relevant information for pricing when capacity has been committed. Using the price and cost data from a sample of four U.S. domestic airlines, we find that full cost explains price variations of first‐day sales robustly. The adjusted R² of the marginal cost pricing model is larger in the sample of sales two days prior to departure than in the sample of first‐day sales. In the analysis of the sample of sales two days prior to departure, we find that, based on the adjusted R² of the full cost pricing and marginal cost pricing models, the explanatory power of marginal cost pricing is relatively weaker than full cost pricing. Our results document the use of different cost information along the dynamic change of price and provide implications in understanding the role of cost information in setting prices.     

转型期中国土地出让收入和价格的演变规律——基于财政分权与经济目标的视角

针对当前突出的“土地财政”问题,利用1998~2012年省际面板数据,构建面板数据模型,实证分析转型期我国土地出让收入和价格是否由财政分权和经济目标考核的共同影响。结果表明,在财政分权下,地方政府通过出让更多的土地来获得收支平衡,导致出让收入增加和价格快速上涨;在经济目标考核下,地方政府会采取工业和商业混合发展模式,工业上采取协议方式低价出让土地与商业上采取“招拍挂”方式高价出让土地,两者之间差距逐渐扩大;房价和地区市场开放度也影响土地出让收入。     

Short sale constraints,heterogeneous interpretations,and asymmetric price reactions to earnings announcements

This study tests Miller’s (1977) overpricing hypothesis from a new angle. Specifically, we investigate the effects of heterogeneous interpretations on price reactions to earnings announcements. We find that the difference between good news and bad news earnings response coefficients increases with the degree of heterogeneous interpretations in the presence of short sale constraints. This pattern is more pronounced when short sale constraints are more binding. These findings support the notion that, under short sale constraints, stock prices selectively incorporate more optimistic opinions rather than the average opinion of all investors. Therefore, reducing short sale constraints should facilitate price discovery and improve price efficiency. This study complements recent studies examining the joint effect of short sale constraints and ex ante opinion divergence on price reactions to earnings announcements.