Conflicts of Interest and Research Quality of Affiliated Analysts in the German Universal Banking System: Evidence from IPO Underwriting

The quality of equity research by financial analysts is a prerequisite for an efficient capital market. This study investigates the quality of earnings forecasts and stock recommendations for initial public offerings (IPOs) in Germany. The empirical study includes 12,605 earnings forecasts and 6,209 stock recommendations of individual analysts for the time period from 1997 to 2004. The focus of this study is on analysing the potential conflicts of interest that arise when the analyst is affiliated with the underwriter of an IPO. In a universal banking system these conflicts of interest are usually more pronounced and therefore interesting to investigate. The empirical findings for the German financial market suggest that earnings forecasts and stock recommendations of the analysts belonging to the lead-underwriter are on average inaccurate and biased, indicating some conflicts of interest. Moreover, the stock recommendations of the analysts that are affiliated with the lead-underwriter are often too optimistic resulting in a significant long-run underperformance for the investor. In contrast, unaffiliated analysts provide better earnings forecasts and stock recommendations that result in a superior performance for the investor.     

Universal Banking,Conflicts of Interest and Firm Growth

This paper studies the relationship between universal banking and firm performance. With 40 developing and developed countries, I find that the overall effect of universal banking on firm growth is negative. This suggests that the negative effect of conflicts of interest dominates the positive effect of economies of scale and scope in universal banking. However, in countries with stronger protection of creditors’ rights and higher information efficiency, conflicts of interest are less likely and the negative relationship between universal banking and firm growth is significantly weaker.

证券投资顾问的利益冲突与信息隔离

证券投资顾问的内部模式和外部模式决定了其必然面临各方面的利益冲突,包括公司与客户、客户与客户、客户与非客户等相互间的利益冲突。通过信息隔离墙制度安排,证券公司投行业务、资产管理业务与客户之间的利益冲突可以避免或得到很好的管理;但是对于经纪业务与客户之间、客户与客户、客户与社会公众之间的利益冲突,则需要其他相关机制作补充,具体包括:对于投资顾问主体及其业务的充分信息披露;投资顾问对外咨询业务的限制;严格的合规检查、评价与问责制度等。     

Underwritten Dividend Reinvestment Plans and Conflicts of Interest

We examine conflicts of interests arising from the pricing of seasoned equity offerings (SEOs) in underwritten dividend reinvestment plans (DRIPs). A DRIP is a type of SEO that enables shareholders automatically to reinvest their dividend entitlements in the issuing company's shares. The underwriters have an incentive to sell stock during the DRIP pricing period in order to hedge price risk and/or to reduce the price at which shares are issued. Using individual brokers’ transactions, we show that underwriting brokers engage in an abnormally high level of selling during the issue pricing period. Comparison of pricing period returns between stocks with underwritten DRIPs and a matched sample of non‐underwritten DRIPs shows that significantly more negative returns accrue to firms that have their issues underwritten.     

承销商分析师与非承销商分析师利益冲突比较研究

基于证券分析师首次发表的关于2006~2008年A股市场IPO股票的研究报告数据,运用非参数检验与多元回归分析方法,对我国证券分析师利益冲突行为进行实证分析。研究结果表明,承销商分析师与非承销商分析师均存在乐观倾向,而且承销商分析师的投资评级更为乐观;市场对于承销商分析师与非承销商分析师关注股票的反应并无显著差异,表明我国证券市场投资者并没有认识到分析师的利益冲突行为。     

股吧评论、分析师跟踪与股价崩溃风险——关于模糊信息的信息含量分析

东方财富股吧等股票论坛日渐活跃,反映了投资者对获得上市公司真实、完整、及时信息的强烈需求。尽管股吧有助于促进信息传播,但仍是非正式的信息发布平台,股吧评论本质上是一种模糊信息。为探明股吧评论的信息含量,本文以2012—2017年A股上市公司为研究样本,研究股吧评论对股价崩溃风险的影响,以及同样属于模糊信息的分析师跟踪在这一过程中可能产生的作用。实证结果表明,股吧评论分歧越小,股价崩溃风险越大,并且分析师跟踪人数和研报数量在上述影响过程中发挥中介作用。研究结果有助于厘清股吧评论影响股价崩溃风险的路径和机理,既丰富了股价崩溃风险成因的研究,也揭示了股吧评论、分析师跟踪等模糊信息的信息含量。     

Underwriting Relationships and Analyst Independence in Europe

This paper examines the accuracy of security analysts’ earnings forecasts and stock recommendations for firms in 13 European countries. We document at least three key findings. First, we find strong evidence that lead and co‐lead underwriter analysts’ earnings estimates and stock recommendations are significantly more optimistic than those provided by unaffiliated analysts. Second, we find that lead and co‐lead underwriter analysts’ earnings forecast and stock recommendations are significantly more optimistic for underwriter stocks than for those they provide for other stocks. Third, we also find evidence that these biases found within earnings forecasts and stock recommendations are not driven by one particular country. In short, these findings suggest that affiliated analysts are more optimistic perhaps to maintain investment banking relations.     

Interest Rate Surprises and Stock Prices

This paper examines the impact of unexpected changes in the federal funds target on stock prices from 1988 to 2001. Measures of interest rate surprises are constructed from survey data and changes in the 3-month T-bill yield. I find that surprises associated with decreases in the target cause stock prices to rise significantly. Surprises associated with increases in the target increase stock market volatility on the announcement day, with volatility reverting to pre-surprise levels on the day after the announcement. This volatility pattern is only evident since 1994. An implication is that concerns about immediate disclosure causing persistent and heightened stock market volatility might be misplaced.     

利率与股价之间的价格溢出效应与波动溢出效应

基于具有外生变量的二元VAR-MGARCH模型对中国货币市场利率和股价之间的关联进行了理论分析和实证研究。结果表明,利率和股价之间基本不存在价格溢出效应;货币市场利率和股价序列均表现出时变方差的特征和波动的持久性特征,货币市场和股市之间存在双向波动溢出效应;货币供给的正向冲击对利率的影响是正向的。     

中国利率市场化改革前景分析:理论依据与经验借鉴

利率市场化是建设社会主义市场经济体制、发挥市场配置资源作用的重要内容,是加强我国金融间接调控的关键,是完善金融机构自主经营机制、提高竞争力的必要条件。因此,稳步推进利率市场化已成为我国下一步深化金融改革的重要任务之一。通过积极寻求有关利率市场化的理论依据并科学借鉴已实施利率市场化国家和地区的经验,对于提出我国利率市场化的具体实施思路以及客观分析当前所需外部条件具有十分重要的意义。在当前利率市场化的思路和方案已经基本明晰的前提下,当务之急是积极创造条件以推进利率市场化改革的进程,防范和化解利率市场化进程中蕴藏的各种风险。     

Stock Returns Under High Inflation and Interest Rates: Evidence from the Brazilian Market

We analyze the relationship of high inflation and interest rates with stock returns in Brazil from May 1986 to May 2011, during which Brazil experienced subperiods of both high inflation (May 1986-June 1994) and relative monetary stability (July 1994-May 2011). The result in the total period is dominated by high inflation volatility, and the findings suggest a bidirectional relationship between stock returns and inflation. During the high-inflation subperiod, interest rates are relevant to explain future changes in inflation and stock returns. Under low inflation, movements in interest rates are better anticipated by equity investors, suggesting higher market efficiency than in high-inflation circumstances.     

Interest Rates and Stock Prices: Evidence from Central and Eastern European Markets

We provide empirical evidence regarding the responses of Central and Eastern European capital markets to monetary policy via domestic and international short-term interest rate shocks. The analysis is conducted using a four-variable structural vector error correction model identified by means of permanent-transitory restrictions. The results indicate a noticeable effect of the international interest rate on stock market indexes in the cases of the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, and Romania. Since no monetary policy autonomy exists in Bulgaria, Latvia, and Lithuania, we find support only for the inverse relationship between foreign interest rate and stock index prices.     

The First‐ and Second‐Hand Effect of Analysts' Stock Recommendations: Evidence from the Swiss Stock Market

This paper empirically investigates the impact of both the first release of analysts' stock recommendations to a limited clientele and the subsequent dissemination of the same information in a major newspaper to a broader audience. For a sample of 1460 stock recommendations published in FuW, Switzerland's major financial newspaper, significant positive abnormal returns on the day of the original release of buy recommendations and on the day of publication in FuW are documented. Tests of the price pressure and information hypotheses reveal that analysts' recommendations contain new information, which is quickly incorporated in the stock prices on the first release of this information. In contrast, the statistically significant announcement effects associated with the subsequent publication can be primarily ascribed to price pressure in the underlying securities.     

贷款利率市场化前后商业银行股票网络拓扑性质分析

运用复杂网络方法,构建商业银行股票收益率网络,考量贷款利率市场化前后商业银行股票网络的拓扑性质变化.结果表明:贷款利率市场化前后,16家商业银行股票收益率相关系数没有发生显著变化,网络的平均路径长度及聚集系数也未发生明显变化,但贷款利率市场化后国有五大行股票收益距离更近,彼此相关性更强,网络中心节点变化较大.     

Interest Rate Asymmetries in Long-Term Loan and Deposit Markets

Studies of U.S. loan and deposit markets have found that consumer interest rates respond asymmetrically to changes in market rates. If this finding is repeated across many different consumer finance product markets, then it could have important implications for the transmission mechanism of monetary policy. This paper tests for significant interest rate asymmetries in consumer finance markets that differ markedly from those examined in the existing literature. The main result of this paper is to reject the hypothesis of significant asymmetries in most (but not all) of the longer-term loan and deposit markets examined in Canada and the United States. This indicates that the explanations for asymmetries given in the literature are not generalizable across different product markets in different countries.     

Behavioural Finance: A Review and Synthesis

I provide a synthesis of the Behavioural finance literature over the past two decades. I review the literature in three parts, namely, (i) empirical and theoretical analyses of patterns in the cross‐section of average stock returns, (ii) studies on trading activity, and (iii) research in corporate finance. Behavioural finance is an exciting new field because it presents a number of normative implications for both individual investors and CEOs. The papers reviewed here allow us to learn more about these specific implications.     

UK Stock Returns and the Impact of Domestic Monetary Policy Shocks

Abstract:  We investigate the influence of changes in UK monetary policy on UK stock returns and the possible reasons behind such a response. Firstly, we conduct an event study to assess the impact of unexpected changes in monetary policy on aggregate and sectoral stock returns. The decomposition of unexpected changes in the policy rate is based on futures markets data. Secondly, using a variance decomposition in the spirit of Campbell (1991) we attempt to identity the channels behind the response of stock returns to monetary policy surprises. The variance decomposition results indicate that the monetary policy shock leads to a persistent negative response in terms of future excess returns for a number of sectors.