IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jjrfmx/v14y2021i3p103-d510776.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Has the Propensity to Pay Dividends Declined? Evidence from the US Banking Sector

Author

Listed:
  • Shaojie Lai

    (School of Finance, Jiangxi University of Finance and Economics, Nanchang 330013, China)

  • Qing Wang

    (School of Finance, Jiangxi University of Finance and Economics, Nanchang 330013, China)

  • Jiangze Du

    (School of Finance, Jiangxi University of Finance and Economics, Nanchang 330013, China)

  • Shuwen Pi

    (School of Finance, Jiangxi University of Finance and Economics, Nanchang 330013, China)

Abstract

This article examines the propensity to pay dividends in the U.S banking sector during 1973–2014. Although the propensity to pay dividends has been declining over the 52 years of our sample period, banks are consistently more likely to pay dividends than non-financial firms. Using the coefficients from logit models estimated early in the sample period to forecast the percentage of dividend payers in each subsequent year, we conclude that there has been a decline in the likelihood of paying dividends in the banking sector. However, the decline started from a very high level as compared to that of the non-banking sectors. In addition, the variables taken from the non-financial firm literature do not explain the difference between the actual and expected percentage of dividend payers in the banking sector. We also conduct exploratory analyses with bank-specific variables. Although newly included variables are significantly related to the likelihood of paying dividends, they do not explain the declining propensity to pay dividends in the banking sector.

Suggested Citation

  • Shaojie Lai & Qing Wang & Jiangze Du & Shuwen Pi, 2021. "Has the Propensity to Pay Dividends Declined? Evidence from the US Banking Sector," JRFM, MDPI, vol. 14(3), pages 1-14, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jjrfmx:v:14:y:2021:i:3:p:103-:d:510776
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1911-8074/14/3/103/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1911-8074/14/3/103/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Eugene F. Fama & Kenneth R. French, 2001. "Disappearing Dividends: Changing Firm Characteristics Or Lower Propensity To Pay?," Journal of Applied Corporate Finance, Morgan Stanley, vol. 14(1), pages 67-79, March.
    2. Gerard Hoberg & Nagpurnanand R. Prabhala, 2009. "Disappearing Dividends, Catering, and Risk," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 22(1), pages 79-116, January.
    3. Kanas, Angelos, 2013. "Bank dividends, risk, and regulatory regimes," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 37(1), pages 1-10.
    4. Filbeck, Greg & Mullineaux, Donald J, 1993. "Regulatory Monitoring and the Impact of Bank Holding Company Dividend Changes on Equity Returns," The Financial Review, Eastern Finance Association, vol. 28(3), pages 403-415, August.
    5. Onali, Enrico & Galiakhmetova, Ramilya & Molyneux, Philip & Torluccio, Giuseppe, 2016. "CEO power, government monitoring, and bank dividends," Journal of Financial Intermediation, Elsevier, vol. 27(C), pages 89-117.
    6. Forti, Cristiano & Schiozer, Rafael F., 2015. "Bank dividends and signaling to information-sensitive depositors," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 56(C), pages 1-11.
    7. DeAngelo, Harry & DeAngelo, Linda & Stulz, Rene M., 2006. "Dividend policy and the earned/contributed capital mix: a test of the life-cycle theory," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 81(2), pages 227-254, August.
    8. Brav, Alon & Graham, John R. & Harvey, Campbell R. & Michaely, Roni, 2005. "Payout policy in the 21st century," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 77(3), pages 483-527, September.
    9. Geetanjali Pinto & Shailesh Rastogi, 2019. "Sectoral Analysis of Factors Influencing Dividend Policy: Case of an Emerging Financial Market," JRFM, MDPI, vol. 12(3), pages 1-18, June.
    10. Boldin, Robert & Leggett, Keith, 1995. "Bank dividend policy as a signal of bank quality," Financial Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 4(1), pages 1-8.
    11. Athanasoglou, Panayiotis P. & Daniilidis, Ioannis & Delis, Manthos D., 2014. "Bank procyclicality and output: Issues and policies," Journal of Economics and Business, Elsevier, vol. 72(C), pages 58-83.
    12. Floyd, Eric & Li, Nan & Skinner, Douglas J., 2015. "Payout policy through the financial crisis: The growth of repurchases and the resilience of dividends," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 118(2), pages 299-316.
    13. Flannery, Mark J, 1998. "Using Market Information in Prudential Bank Supervision: A Review of the U.S. Empirical Evidence," Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 30(3), pages 273-305, August.
    14. Gustavo Grullon & Roni Michaely & Bhaskaran Swaminathan, 2002. "Are Dividend Changes a Sign of Firm Maturity?," The Journal of Business, University of Chicago Press, vol. 75(3), pages 387-424, July.
    15. Miller, Merton H & Rock, Kevin, 1985. "Dividend Policy under Asymmetric Information," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 40(4), pages 1031-1051, September.
    16. Casey, K. Michael & Dickens, Ross N., 2000. "The effects of tax and regulatory changes on commercial bank dividend policy," The Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 40(2), pages 279-293.
    17. Collins, M Cary & Blackwell, David W & Sinkey, Joseph F, Jr, 1994. "Financial Innovation, Investment Opportunities, and Corporate Policy Choices for Large Bank Holding Companies," The Financial Review, Eastern Finance Association, vol. 29(2), pages 223-247, May.
    18. Adeel Mustafa & Abubakr Saeed & Muhammad Awais & Shahab Aziz, 2020. "Board-Gender Diversity, Family Ownership, and Dividend Announcement: Evidence from Asian Emerging Economies," JRFM, MDPI, vol. 13(4), pages 1-20, March.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Tripathy, Niranjan & Wu, Da & Zheng, Yi, 2021. "Dividends and financial health: Evidence from U.S. bank holding companies," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 66(C).
    2. Lepetit, L. & Meslier, C. & Strobel, F. & Wardhana, L., 2018. "Bank dividends, agency costs and shareholder and creditor rights," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 56(C), pages 93-111.
    3. Trinh, Vu Quang & Kara, Alper & Elnahass, Marwa, 2022. "Dividend payout strategies and bank survival likelihood: A cross-country analysis," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 81(C).
    4. Seyed Alireza Athari, 2021. "The effects of institutional settings and risks on bank dividend policy in an emerging market: Evidence from Tobit model," International Journal of Finance & Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 26(3), pages 4493-4515, July.
    5. Salvatore Cardillo & Jacopo Raponi, 2023. "EU banks' dividend policies: main determinants and the role of capital ratios," Temi di discussione (Economic working papers) 1403, Bank of Italy, Economic Research and International Relations Area.
    6. Benoît D'Udekem, 2014. "Rational Dividend Addiction in Banking," Working Papers CEB 14-013, ULB -- Universite Libre de Bruxelles.
    7. Chronopoulos, Dimitris K. & Johari, Edie Erman Che & Scholtens, Bert & Sobiech, Anna L. & Wilson, John O.S. & Yilmaz, Muhammed H., 2023. "Competition and bank dividends," Journal of International Money and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 137(C).
    8. Che Johari, Edie Erman & Chronopoulos, Dimitris K. & Scholtens, Bert & Sobiech, Anna L. & Wilson, John O.S., 2020. "Deposit insurance and bank dividend policy," Journal of Financial Stability, Elsevier, vol. 48(C).
    9. Benoit d’Udekem, 2021. "Agency Conflicts and Dividend Persistence," Journal of Financial Services Research, Springer;Western Finance Association, vol. 60(2), pages 207-234, December.
    10. Kent Baker, H. & De Ridder, Adri, 2018. "Payout policy in industrial and financial firms," Global Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 37(C), pages 138-151.
    11. Wong, Jin Boon & Hasan, Mostafa Monzur, 2021. "Oil shocks and corporate payouts," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 99(C).
    12. Marco Belloni & Maciej Grodzicki & Mariusz Jarmuzek, 2022. "Why European Banks Adjust their Dividend Payouts?," IMF Working Papers 2022/194, International Monetary Fund.
    13. Zhe An & Wenlian Gao & Donghui Li & Dezhu Ye, 2022. "Dividend payouts, cash‐flow uncertainty and the role of institutions," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 49(7-8), pages 1356-1390, July.
    14. Booth, Laurence & Zhou, Jun, 2017. "Dividend policy: A selective review of results from around the world," Global Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 34(C), pages 1-15.
    15. Hayley Baker & Millicent Chang & Choy Yeing (Chloe) Ho, 2021. "Value of dividend signaling in uncertain times," International Review of Finance, International Review of Finance Ltd., vol. 21(4), pages 1419-1440, December.
    16. Vu Quang Trinh & Marwa Elnahass & Aly Salama, 2021. "Board busyness and new insights into alternative bank dividends models," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 56(4), pages 1289-1328, May.
    17. Ashraf, Badar Nadeem & Bibi, Bushra & Zheng, Changjun, 2016. "How to regulate bank dividends? Is capital regulation an answer?," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 57(C), pages 281-293.
    18. Banyi, Monica L. & Kahle, Kathleen M., 2014. "Declining propensity to pay? A re-examination of the lifecycle theory," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 27(C), pages 345-366.
    19. Ming-Hui Wang & Mei-Chu Ke & Day-Yang Liu & Yen-Sheng Huang, 2011. "Dividend Policy And The Life Cycle Hypothesis: Evidence From Taiwan," The International Journal of Business and Finance Research, The Institute for Business and Finance Research, vol. 5(1), pages 33-52.
    20. Cao, Zhangfan & Chen, Steven Xianglong & Harakeh, Mostafa & Lee, Edward, 2022. "Do non-financial factors influence corporate dividend policies? Evidence from business strategy," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 82(C).

    More about this item

    Keywords

    payout policy; dividends; banks;
    All these keywords.

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jjrfmx:v:14:y:2021:i:3:p:103-:d:510776. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.