IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/sae/emffin/v17y2018i3p307-332.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Drivers of Bank Solvency, Risk Provisioning and Profitability in the Armenian Banking System

Author

Listed:
  • Suren Pakhchanyan
  • Jörg Prokop
  • Gor Sahakyan

Abstract

The aim of this study is to examine the effects of bank-specific, regulatory and macroeconomic determinants on solvency, risk provisioning, and profitability in the Armenian banking sector. We show that abnormal loan growth is associated with a decrease in regulatory capital ratios, an increase in loan loss provisions, and a reduction in loan portfolio profitability. In addition, we observe an inverse relationship between GDP growth and bank solvency as well as profitability. Regarding regulation, we identify a decrease in regulatory capital ratios as well as a drop in profitability after the implementation of the Basel II Accord. JEL Classification: G32, G21, G28

Suggested Citation

  • Suren Pakhchanyan & Jörg Prokop & Gor Sahakyan, 2018. "Drivers of Bank Solvency, Risk Provisioning and Profitability in the Armenian Banking System," Journal of Emerging Market Finance, Institute for Financial Management and Research, vol. 17(3), pages 307-332, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:emffin:v:17:y:2018:i:3:p:307-332
    DOI: 10.1177/0972652718797815
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0972652718797815
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1177/0972652718797815?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Hakenes, Hendrik & Schnabel, Isabel, 2011. "Bank size and risk-taking under Basel II," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 35(6), pages 1436-1449, June.
    2. Cottarelli, Carlo & Dell'Ariccia, Giovanni & Vladkova-Hollar, Ivanna, 2005. "Early birds, late risers, and sleeping beauties: Bank credit growth to the private sector in Central and Eastern Europe and in the Balkans," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 29(1), pages 83-104, January.
    3. Laeven, Luc & Majnoni, Giovanni, 2003. "Loan loss provisioning and economic slowdowns: too much, too late?," Journal of Financial Intermediation, Elsevier, vol. 12(2), pages 178-197, April.
    4. Demirguc, Asli & Huizinga, Harry, 1999. "Determinants of Commercial Bank Interest Margins and Profitability: Some International Evidence," The World Bank Economic Review, World Bank, vol. 13(2), pages 379-408, May.
    5. Gabriel Jiménez & Jesús Saurina, 2006. "Credit Cycles, Credit Risk, and Prudential Regulation," International Journal of Central Banking, International Journal of Central Banking, vol. 2(2), May.
    6. Jennifer S. Crystal & B. Gerard Dages & Linda S. Goldberg, 2002. "Has foreign bank entry led to sounder banks in Latin America?," Current Issues in Economics and Finance, Federal Reserve Bank of New York, vol. 8(Jan).
    7. Stiroh, Kevin J. & Rumble, Adrienne, 2006. "The dark side of diversification: The case of US financial holding companies," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 30(8), pages 2131-2161, August.
    8. Kurt Hess & Arthur Grimes & Mark Holmes, 2009. "Credit Losses in Australasian Banking," The Economic Record, The Economic Society of Australia, vol. 85(270), pages 331-343, September.
    9. García-Herrero, Alicia & Gavilá, Sergio & Santabárbara, Daniel, 2009. "What explains the low profitability of Chinese banks?," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 33(11), pages 2080-2092, November.
    10. repec:oup:rfinst:v:25:y::i:12:p:3572-3609 is not listed on IDEAS
    11. Jokipii, Terhi & Milne, Alistair, 2008. "The cyclical behaviour of European bank capital buffers," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 32(8), pages 1440-1451, August.
    12. World Bank, 2008. "Accounting and Auditing," World Bank Publications - Reports 28230, The World Bank Group.
    13. Liang, Qi & Xu, Pisun & Jiraporn, Pornsit, 2013. "Board characteristics and Chinese bank performance," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 37(8), pages 2953-2968.
    14. Raghuram G. Rajan, 1994. "Why Bank Credit Policies Fluctuate: A Theory and Some Evidence," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 109(2), pages 399-441.
    15. Maudos, Joaquin & Fernandez de Guevara, Juan, 2004. "Factors explaining the interest margin in the banking sectors of the European Union," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 28(9), pages 2259-2281, September.
    16. Goddard, John & Molyneux, Phil & Wilson, John O S, 2004. "Dynamics of Growth and Profitability in Banking," Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 36(6), pages 1069-1090, December.
    17. Enrica Detragiache & Thierry Tressel & Poonam Gupta, 2008. "Foreign Banks in Poor Countries: Theory and Evidence," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 63(5), pages 2123-2160, October.
    18. Viral Acharya & Sergei A. Davydenko & Ilya A. Strebulaev, 2012. "Cash Holdings and Credit Risk," Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 25(12), pages 3572-3609.
    19. Manthos D. Delis & Philip Molyneux & Fotios Pasiouras, 2011. "Regulations and Productivity Growth in Banking: Evidence from Transition Economies," Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 43(4), pages 735-764, June.
    20. Brown, Martin & Maurer, Maria Rueda & Pak, Tamara & Tynaev, Nurlanbek, 2009. "The impact of banking sector reform in a transition economy: Evidence from Kyrgyzstan," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 33(9), pages 1677-1687, September.
    21. Berger, Allen N. & Udell, Gregory F., 2004. "The institutional memory hypothesis and the procyclicality of bank lending behavior," Journal of Financial Intermediation, Elsevier, vol. 13(4), pages 458-495, October.
    22. Pasiouras, Fotios & Tanna, Sailesh & Zopounidis, Constantin, 2009. "The impact of banking regulations on banks' cost and profit efficiency: Cross-country evidence," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 18(5), pages 294-302, December.
    23. Ceyla Pazarbasioglu & Miss Gudrun Johnsen & Mr. Paul Louis Ceriel Hilbers & Ms. Inci Ötker, 2005. "Assessing and Managing Rapid Credit Growth and the Role of Supervisory and Prudential Policies," IMF Working Papers 2005/151, International Monetary Fund.
    24. Vicente Salas & Jesús Saurina, 2002. "Credit Risk in Two Institutional Regimes: Spanish Commercial and Savings Banks," Journal of Financial Services Research, Springer;Western Finance Association, vol. 22(3), pages 203-224, December.
    25. Pasiouras, Fotios & Kosmidou, Kyriaki, 2007. "Factors influencing the profitability of domestic and foreign commercial banks in the European Union," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 21(2), pages 222-237, June.
    26. Ongena, Steven & Popov, Alexander & Udell, Gregory F., 2013. "“When the cat's away the mice will play”: Does regulation at home affect bank risk-taking abroad?," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 108(3), pages 727-750.
    27. Berger, Allen N. & Hasan, Iftekhar & Zhou, Mingming, 2009. "Bank ownership and efficiency in China: What will happen in the world's largest nation?," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 33(1), pages 113-130, January.
    28. Clarke, George R. G. & Cull, Robert & Martinez Peria, Maria Soledad, 2001. "Does foreign bank penetration reduce access to credit in developing countries"evidence from asking borrowers," Policy Research Working Paper Series 2716, The World Bank.
    29. Coricelli, Fabrizio & Revoltella, Debora & Mucci, Fabio, 2006. "Household Credit in the New Europe," CEPR Discussion Papers 5520, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    30. Guidara, Alaa & Lai, Van Son & Soumaré, Issouf & Tchana, Fulbert Tchana, 2013. "Banks’ capital buffer, risk and performance in the Canadian banking system: Impact of business cycles and regulatory changes," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 37(9), pages 3373-3387.
    31. Fotios Pasiouras, 2008. "International evidence on the impact of regulations and supervision on banks’ technical efficiency: an application of two-stage data envelopment analysis," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 30(2), pages 187-223, February.
    32. Shehzad, Choudhry Tanveer & de Haan, Jakob & Scholtens, Bert, 2010. "The impact of bank ownership concentration on impaired loans and capital adequacy," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 34(2), pages 399-408, February.
    33. Foos, Daniel & Norden, Lars & Weber, Martin, 2010. "Loan growth and riskiness of banks," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 34(12), pages 2929-2940, December.
    34. James R. Barth & Luis G. Dopico & Daniel E. Nolle & James A. Wilcox, 2002. "Bank Safety and Soundness and the Structure of Bank Supervision: A Cross‐Country Analysis," International Review of Finance, International Review of Finance Ltd., vol. 3(3‐4), pages 163-188, September.
    35. repec:zbw:bofitp:2014_008 is not listed on IDEAS
    36. William B. Francis & Matthew Osborne, 2010. "On the Behavior and Determinants of Risk‐Based Capital Ratios: Revisiting the Evidence from UK Banking Institutions," International Review of Finance, International Review of Finance Ltd., vol. 10(4), pages 485-518, December.
    37. Stolz, Stéphanie & Wedow, Michael, 2011. "Banks' regulatory capital buffer and the business cycle: Evidence for Germany," Journal of Financial Stability, Elsevier, vol. 7(2), pages 98-110, June.
    38. Darren Pain, 2003. "The provisioning experience of the major UK banks: a small panel investigation," Bank of England working papers 177, Bank of England.
    39. Luca, Alina & Petrova, Iva, 2008. "What drives credit dollarization in transition economies?," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 32(5), pages 858-869, May.
    40. Fang, Yiwei & Hasan, Iftekhar & Marton, Katherin, 2014. "Institutional development and bank stability: Evidence from transition countries," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 39(C), pages 160-176.
    41. Booth, James R. & Cornett, Marcia Millon & Tehranian, Hassan, 2002. "Boards of directors, ownership, and regulation," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 26(10), pages 1973-1996, October.
    42. Shim, Jeungbo, 2013. "Bank capital buffer and portfolio risk: The influence of business cycle and revenue diversification," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 37(3), pages 761-772.
    43. World Bank, 2008. "Accounting and Auditing," World Bank Publications - Reports 28236, The World Bank Group.
    44. Mr. Holger Floerkemeier & Ms. Era Dabla-Norris, 2007. "Bank Efficiency and Market Structure: What Determines Banking Spreads in Armenia?," IMF Working Papers 2007/134, International Monetary Fund.
    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. Ben Bouheni, Faten & Hasnaoui, Amir, 2017. "Cyclical behavior of the financial stability of eurozone commercial banks," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 67(C), pages 392-408.
    2. Laidroo, Laivi & Männasoo, Kadri, 2017. "Do credit commitments compromise credit quality?," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 41(C), pages 303-317.
    3. Kanga, Désiré & Murinde, Victor & Soumaré, Issouf, 2020. "Capital, risk and profitability of WAEMU banks: Does bank ownership matter?," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 114(C).
    4. Hans Degryse & Sanja Jakovljević & Steven Ongena, 2015. "A Review of Empirical Research on the Design and Impact of Regulation in the Banking Sector," Annual Review of Financial Economics, Annual Reviews, vol. 7(1), pages 423-443, December.
    5. Wahyoe Soedarmono & Amine Tarazi & Agusman Agusman & Gary S. Monroe & Dominic Gasbarro, 2016. "Loan Loss Provisions and Lending Behavior of Banks: Do Information Sharing and Borrower Legal Rights Matter?," Working Papers hal-01316717, HAL.
    6. Khanh Ngoc Nguyen, 2019. "Revenue Diversification, Risk and Bank Performance of Vietnamese Commercial Banks," JRFM, MDPI, vol. 12(3), pages 1-21, August.
    7. Anachit Bagntasarian & Emmanuel Mamatzakis, 2019. "Testing for the underlying dynamics of bank capital buffer and performance nexus," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 52(2), pages 347-380, February.
    8. Soedarmono, Wahyoe & Sitorus, Djauhari & Tarazi, Amine, 2017. "Abnormal loan growth, credit information sharing and systemic risk in Asian banks," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 42(C), pages 1208-1218.
    9. Elfeituri, Hatem, 2022. "Banking stability, institutional quality, market concentration, competition and political conflict in MENA," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 76(C).
    10. Lee, Chien-Chiang & Hsieh, Meng-Fen, 2014. "Bank reforms, foreign ownership, and financial stability," Journal of International Money and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 40(C), pages 204-224.
    11. Syed Moudud-Ul-Huq, 2019. "Banks’ capital buffers, risk, and efficiency in emerging economies: are they counter-cyclical?," Eurasian Economic Review, Springer;Eurasia Business and Economics Society, vol. 9(4), pages 467-492, December.
    12. Niu, Jijun, 2016. "Loan growth and bank valuations," The Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 61(C), pages 185-191.
    13. Kick, Thomas & Pausch, Thilo & Ruprecht, Benedikt, 2015. "The winner's curse: Evidence on the danger of aggressive credit growth in banking," Discussion Papers 32/2015, Deutsche Bundesbank.
    14. 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.
    15. Muhammad Kashif & Syed Faizan Iftikhar & Khurram Iftikhar, 2016. "Loan growth and bank solvency: evidence from the Pakistani banking sector," Financial Innovation, Springer;Southwestern University of Finance and Economics, vol. 2(1), pages 1-13, December.
    16. Foos, Daniel & Norden, Lars & Weber, Martin, 2010. "Loan growth and riskiness of banks," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 34(12), pages 2929-2940, December.
    17. Mamatzakis, Emmanuel & Bagntasarian, Anna, 2019. "The nexus between underlying dynamics of bank capital buffer and performance," MPRA Paper 92961, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    18. García-Herrero, Alicia & Gavilá, Sergio & Santabárbara, Daniel, 2009. "What explains the low profitability of Chinese banks?," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 33(11), pages 2080-2092, November.
    19. Wang, Jiamei & Chen, Haibin & Zhang, Heng & Luo, Jianchao & Cheng, Mingwang & Zhang, Jiaping, 2022. "Property rights reform and capital adequacy ratios of rural credit cooperatives in China," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 106(C).
    20. Juan Amador & José Gómez-González & Andrés Pabón, 2013. "Loan growth and bank risk: new evidence," Financial Markets and Portfolio Management, Springer;Swiss Society for Financial Market Research, vol. 27(4), pages 365-379, December.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Risk management; profitability; solvency; credit risk; Armenian banks; loan growth;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • G32 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Financing Policy; Financial Risk and Risk Management; Capital and Ownership Structure; Value of Firms; Goodwill
    • G21 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - Banks; Other Depository Institutions; Micro Finance Institutions; Mortgages
    • G28 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - Government Policy and Regulation

    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:sae:emffin:v:17:y:2018:i:3:p:307-332. 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: SAGE Publications (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.ifmr.ac.in .

    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.