This file is part of IDEAS, which uses RePEc data


[ Papers | Articles | Software | Books | Chapters | Authors | Institutions | JEL Classification | NEP reports | Search | New papers by email | Author registration | Rankings | Volunteers | FAQ | Blog | Help! ]

Regulating Financial Conglomerates

Author info | Abstract | Publisher info | Download info | Related research | Statistics
Author Info
Freixas, Xavier
Lóránth, Gyöngyi
Morrison, Alan
Abstract

We investigate the optimal regulation of financial conglomerates that combine a bank and a non-bank financial institution. The conglomerate’s risk-taking incentives depend upon the level of market discipline it faces, which in turn is determined by the conglomerate’s liability structure. We examine optimal capital requirements for standalone institutions, for integrated financial conglomerates, and for financial conglomerates that are structured as holding companies. For a given risk profile, integrated conglomerates have a lower probability of failure than either their standalone or decentralized equivalent. However, when risk profiles are endogenously selected conglomeration may extend the reach of the deposit insurance safety net and hence provide incentives for increased risk-taking. As a result, integrated conglomerates may optimally attract higher capital requirements. In contrast, decentralized conglomerates are able to hold assets in the socially most efficient place. Their optimal capital requirements encourage this. Hence, the practice of ‘regulatory arbitrage’, or of transferring assets from one balance sheet to another, is welfare-increasing. We discuss the policy implications of our finding in the context not only of the present debate on the regulation of financial conglomerates but also in the light of existing US bank holding company regulation.

Download Info
To download:

If you experience problems downloading a file, check if you have the proper application to view it first. Information about this may be contained in the File-Format links below. In case of further problems read the IDEAS help page. Note that these files are not on the IDEAS site. Please be patient as the files may be large.

File URL: http://www.cepr.org/pubs/dps/DP5036.asp
File Format: application/pdf
File Function:
Download Restriction: CEPR Discussion Papers are free to download for our researchers, subscribers and members. If you fall into one of these categories but have trouble downloading our papers, please contact us at subscribers@cepr.org

As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to look for a different version under "Related research" (further below) or search for a different version of it.

Publisher Info
Paper provided by C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers in its series CEPR Discussion Papers with number 5036.

Download reference. The following formats are available: HTML (with abstract), plain text (with abstract), BibTeX, RIS (EndNote, RefMan, ProCite), ReDIF
Length:
Date of creation: May 2005
Date of revision:
Handle: RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:5036

Contact details of provider:
Postal: Centre for Economic Policy Research, 53--56 Great Sutton Street, London EC1V 0DG
Phone: 44 - 20 - 7183 8801
Fax: 44 - 20 - 7183 8820

Order Information:
Email:

For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its listing, contact: ().

Related research
Keywords: capital regulation; financial conglomerate; regulatory arbitrage;

Find related papers by JEL classification:
G21 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - Banks; Other Depository Institutions; Mortgages
G22 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - Insurance; Insurance Companies
G28 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - Government Policy and Regulation

This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

References listed on IDEAS
Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.:
  1. Bernard Shull & Lawrence J. White, 1998. "Of firewalls and subsidiaries: the right stuff for expanded bank activities," Proceedings, Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, issue May, pages 509-530.
  2. João Cabral dos Santos, 1996. "Commercial banks in the securities business: a review," Working Paper 9610, Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  3. Stewart C. Myers & Nicholas S. Majluf, 1984. "Corporate Financing and Investment Decisions When Firms Have InformationThat Investors Do Not Have," NBER Working Papers 1396, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  4. Keeley, Michael C, 1990. "Deposit Insurance, Risk, and Market Power in Banking," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 80(5), pages 1183-1200, December. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  5. Allen N. Berger & Robert DeYoung & Hesna Genay & Gregory F. Udell, 2000. "Globalization of financial institutions: evidence from cross-border banking performance," Finance and Economics Discussion Series 2000-04, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (U.S.). [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  6. Barth, James R. & Caprio Jr, Gerard & Levine, Ross, 2001. "The regulation and supervision of banks around the world - a new database," Policy Research Working Paper Series 2588, The World Bank. [Downloadable!]
  7. Grossman, Sanford J & Stiglitz, Joseph E, 1980. "On the Impossibility of Informationally Efficient Markets," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 70(3), pages 393-408, June.
  8. Frank Dierick, 2004. "The supervision of mixed financial services groups in Europe," Occasional Paper Series 20, European Central Bank. [Downloadable!]
  9. Gyongyi Loranth & Alan Morrison, 2003. "Multinational Bank Capital Regulation with Deposit Insurance and Diversification Effects," OFRC Working Papers Series 2003fe11, Oxford Financial Research Centre. [Downloadable!]
  10. Hart, Oliver D & Jaffee, Dwight M, 1974. "On the Application of Portfolio Theory to Depository Financial Intermediaries," Review of Economic Studies, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 41(1), pages 129-47, January. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  11. Boot, Arnoud W. A. & Schmeits, Anjolein, 2000. "Market Discipline and Incentive Problems in Conglomerate Firms with Applications to Banking," Journal of Financial Intermediation, Elsevier, vol. 9(3), pages 240-273, July. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  12. Cara S. Lown & Carol L. Osler & Philip E. Strahan & Amir Sufi, 2000. "The changing landscape of the financial services industry: what lies ahead?," Economic Policy Review, Federal Reserve Bank of New York, issue Oct, pages 39-54. [Downloadable!]
  13. Douglas W. Diamond & Raghuram G. Rajan, 2001. "Liquidity Risk, Liquidity Creation, and Financial Fragility: A Theory of Banking," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 109(2), pages 287-327, April. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  14. Patrick Bolton & Xavier Freixas, 2000. "Equity, Bonds, and Bank Debt: Capital Structure and Financial Market Equilibrium under Asymmetric Information," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 108(2), pages 324-351, April. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  15. Adam B. Ashcraft, 2004. "Are bank holding companies a source of strength to their banking subsidiaries?," Staff Reports 189, Federal Reserve Bank of New York. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  16. Lóránth, Gyöngyi & Morrison, Alan, 2003. "Multinational Bank Regulation with Deposit Insurance and Diversification Effects," CEPR Discussion Papers 4148, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  17. Mälkönen , Ville, 2004. "Capital adequacy regulation and financial conglomerates," Research Discussion Papers 10/2004, Bank of Finland. [Downloadable!]
  18. Milbourn, Todd T. & Boot, Arnoud W. A. & Thakor, Anjan V., 1999. "Megamergers and expanded scope: Theories of bank size and activity diversity," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 23(2-4), pages 195-214, February. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  19. Allen, Linda & Jagtiani, Julapa, 2000. "The risk effects of combining banking, securities, and insurance activities," Journal of Economics and Business, Elsevier, vol. 52(6), pages 485-497. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
Full references

Statistics
Access and download statistics

Did you know? IDEAS was launched in September 1997.

This page was last updated on 2009-12-21.


This information is provided to you by IDEAS at the Department of Economics, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, University of Connecticut using RePEc data on a server sponsored by the Society for Economic Dynamics.