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For Richer, for Poorer: Bankers' Liability and Bank Risk in New England, 1867 to 1880

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  • PETER KOUDIJS
  • LAURA SALISBURY
  • GURPAL SRAN

Abstract

We study whether banks are riskier if managers have less liability. We focus on New England between 1867 and 1880 and consider the introduction of marital property laws that limited liability for newly wedded bankers. We find that banks with managers who married after a law had higher leverage, delayed loss recognition, made more risky and fraudulent loans, and lost more capital and deposits in the Long Depression of 1873 to 1878. These effects were most pronounced for bankers with the largest reduction in liability. We find no evidence that limiting liability increased firm investment at the county level.

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  • Peter Koudijs & Laura Salisbury & Gurpal Sran, 2021. "For Richer, for Poorer: Bankers' Liability and Bank Risk in New England, 1867 to 1880," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 76(3), pages 1541-1599, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:jfinan:v:76:y:2021:i:3:p:1541-1599
    DOI: 10.1111/jofi.13011
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    2. Bogle, David A. & Campbell, Gareth & Coyle, Christopher & Turner, John D., 2022. "Why did shareholder liability disappear?," QUCEH Working Paper Series 22-12, Queen's University Belfast, Queen's University Centre for Economic History.
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    5. Goodhart, C. A. E. & Postel-Vinay, Natacha, 2024. "The City of Glasgow Bank failure and the case for liability reform," Economic History Working Papers 121956, London School of Economics and Political Science, Department of Economic History.

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