IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/pra/mprapa/108506.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Bank earnings management using loan loss provisions: comparing the UK, France, South Africa and Egypt

Author

Listed:
  • Ozili, Peterson Kitakogelu

Abstract

This paper investigates bank earnings management using loan loss provision (LLP). The paper examines income smoothing which is a type of earnings management. It compares the income smoothing behaviour of banks in the UK, France, South Africa and Egypt. The findings show that bank income smoothing is present in the UK and Egypt, and absent in France and South Africa during the period examined. Banks in Egypt used LLPs to smooth income before the global financial crisis. Meanwhile, bank income smoothing is pronounced in France during and after the financial crisis but is absent in the pre-crisis period. Also, bank income smoothing is reduced in countries that (i) have strict banking supervision, (ii) adopt common law such as the United Kingdom, and (iii) adopt civil law such as France and Egypt. Bank earnings management is also greater in countries that adopt a mixed legal system such as South Africa, and in countries that adopt IFRS accounting standards.

Suggested Citation

  • Ozili, Peterson Kitakogelu, 2021. "Bank earnings management using loan loss provisions: comparing the UK, France, South Africa and Egypt," MPRA Paper 108506, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    • Handle: RePEc:pra:mprapa:108506
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://mpra.ub.uni-muenchen.de/108506/1/MPRA_paper_108506.pdf
    File Function: original version
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Domenico Curcio & Iftekhar Hasan, 2015. "Earnings and capital management and signaling: the use of loan-loss provisions by European banks," The European Journal of Finance, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 21(1), pages 26-50, January.
    2. Ozili, Peterson K, 2017. "Discretionary Provisioning Practices among Western European Banks," MPRA Paper 92645, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    3. Marton, Jan & Runesson, Emmeli, 2017. "The predictive ability of loan loss provisions in banks – Effects of accounting standards, enforcement and incentives," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 49(2), pages 162-180.
    4. Ozili, Peterson K, 2019. "Impact of IAS 39 reclassification on Income Smoothing by European Banks," MPRA Paper 92098, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    5. Peterson K. Ozili & Erick Outa, 2017. "Bank loan loss provisions research: A review," Borsa Istanbul Review, Research and Business Development Department, Borsa Istanbul, vol. 17(3), pages 144-163, September.
    6. Wikil Kwak & Ho-Young Lee & Vivek Mande, 2009. "Institutional Ownership and Income Smoothing by Japanese Banks through Loan Loss Provisions," Review of Pacific Basin Financial Markets and Policies (RPBFMP), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 12(02), pages 219-243.
    7. Peterson K. Ozili, 2019. "Bank loan loss provisioning during election years: cross-country evidence," International Journal of Managerial Finance, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 16(4), pages 413-431, December.
    8. Peterson K. Ozili, 2019. "Impact of IAS 39 reclassification on income smoothing by European banks," Journal of Financial Reporting and Accounting, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 17(3), pages 537-553, September.
    9. Ozili, Peterson K & Outa, Erick R, 2018. "Bank Income Smoothing in South Africa: Role of Ownership, IFRS and Economic fluctuation," MPRA Paper 102567, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    10. Bouvatier, Vincent & Lepetit, Laetitia & Strobel, Frank, 2014. "Bank income smoothing, ownership concentration and the regulatory environment," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 41(C), pages 253-270.
    11. Ahmed, Anwer S. & Takeda, Carolyn & Thomas, Shawn, 1999. "Bank loan loss provisions: a reexamination of capital management, earnings management and signaling effects," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 28(1), pages 1-25, November.
    12. El Sood, Heba Abou, 2012. "Loan loss provisioning and income smoothing in US banks pre and post the financial crisis," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 25(C), pages 64-72.
    13. Ozili, Peterson K, 2019. "Bank loan loss provisioning during election years in Nigeria," MPRA Paper 96704, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    14. Dung Viet Tran & M. Kabir Hassan & Reza Houston, 2020. "Discretionary loan loss provision behavior in the US banking industry," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 55(2), pages 605-645, August.
    15. Doan, Anh-Tuan & Lin, Kun-Li & Doong, Shuh-Chyi, 2020. "State-controlled banks and income smoothing. Do politics matter?," The North American Journal of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 51(C).
    16. Ozili, Peterson K, 2017. "Bank Loan Loss Provisions Research: A Review," MPRA Paper 76495, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    17. Guglielmo Maria Caporale & Matteo Alessi & Stefano Di Colli & Juan Sergio Lopez, 2015. "Loan Loss Provision: Some Empirical Evidence for Italian Banks," Discussion Papers of DIW Berlin 1459, DIW Berlin, German Institute for Economic Research.
    18. Beatty, Anne & Liao, Scott, 2014. "Financial accounting in the banking industry: A review of the empirical literature," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 58(2), pages 339-383.
    19. Fonseca, Ana Rosa & González, Francisco, 2008. "Cross-country determinants of bank income smoothing by managing loan-loss provisions," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 32(2), pages 217-228, February.
    20. Stergios Leventis & Panagiotis Dimitropoulos & Asokan Anandarajan, 2011. "Loan Loss Provisions, Earnings Management and Capital Management under IFRS: The Case of EU Commercial Banks," Journal of Financial Services Research, Springer;Western Finance Association, vol. 40(1), pages 103-122, October.
    21. Peterson K. Ozili, 2017. "Discretionary provisioning practices among Western European banks," Journal of Financial Economic Policy, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 9(1), pages 109-118, April.
    22. Nicoletti, Allison, 2018. "The effects of bank regulators and external auditors on loan loss provisions," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 66(1), pages 244-265.
    23. García Osma, Beatriz & Mora, Araceli & Porcuna-Enguix, Luis, 2019. "Prudential supervisors’ independence and income smoothing in European banks," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 102(C), pages 156-176.
    24. Andries, Kathleen & Gallemore, John & Jacob, Martin, 2017. "The effect of corporate taxation on bank transparency: Evidence from loan loss provisions," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 63(2), pages 307-328.
    25. Azira Abdul Adzis & David W.L. Tripe & Paul Dunmore, 2016. "IAS 39, income smoothing, and pro-cyclicality: evidence from Hong Kong banks," Journal of Financial Economic Policy, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 8(1), pages 80-94, April.
    26. Peterson, Ozili K. & Arun, Thankom G., 2018. "Income smoothing among European systemic and non-systemic banks," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 50(5), pages 539-558.
    27. James R. Barth & Gerard Caprio & Ross Levine, 2013. "Bank regulation and supervision in 180 countries from 1999 to 2011," Journal of Financial Economic Policy, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 5(2), pages 111-219, May.
    28. Danisman, Gamze Ozturk & Demir, Ender & Ozili, Peterson, 2021. "Loan loss provisioning of US banks: Economic policy uncertainty and discretionary behavior," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 71(C), pages 923-935.
    29. McNichols, Maureen F., 2000. "Research design issues in earnings management studies," Journal of Accounting and Public Policy, Elsevier, vol. 19(4-5), pages 313-345.
    30. Kiridaran Kanagaretnam & Gerald Lobo & Chong Wang, 2015. "Religiosity and Earnings Management: International Evidence from the Banking Industry," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 132(2), pages 277-296, December.
    31. Ozili, Peterson K, 2017. "Bank Loan Loss Provisions, Investor Protection and the Macroeconomy," MPRA Paper 80147, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    32. Ozili, Peterson K, 2019. "Impact of IAS 39 reclassification on income smoothing by European banks," MPRA Paper 97035, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    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. Ozili, Peterson K, 2022. "Determinants of bank income smoothing using loan loss provisions in the United Kingdom," MPRA Paper 112047, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    2. Albulena Shala & Valentin Toçi & Skender Ahmeti, 2020. "Income smoothing through loan loss provisions in south and Eastern European banks," Zbornik radova Ekonomskog fakulteta u Rijeci/Proceedings of Rijeka Faculty of Economics, University of Rijeka, Faculty of Economics and Business, vol. 38(2), pages 429-452.
    3. Ozili, Peterson K & Outa, Erick R, 2018. "Bank Income Smoothing in South Africa: Role of Ownership, IFRS and Economic fluctuation," MPRA Paper 102567, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    4. Pandey, Ashish & Guhathakurta, Kousik, 2022. "Value relevance of loan loss provision components and the choice of model specification," Advances in accounting, Elsevier, vol. 58(C).
    5. Di Fabio, Costanza & Ramassa, Paola & Quagli, Alberto, 2021. "Income smoothing in European banks: The contrasting effects of monitoring mechanisms," Journal of International Accounting, Auditing and Taxation, Elsevier, vol. 43(C).
    6. Ozili, Peterson K, 2017. "Bank Loan Loss Provisions Research: A Review," MPRA Paper 76495, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    7. Ozili, Peterson Kitakogelu, 2021. "Big 4 auditors, bank earnings management and financial crisis in Africa," MPRA Paper 108608, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    8. Skała, Dorota, 2021. "Loan loss provisions and income smoothing – Do shareholders matter?," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 78(C).
    9. Ozili, Peterson K., 2019. "Bank income smoothing, institutions and corruption," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 49(C), pages 82-99.
    10. Ozili, Peterson K, 2019. "Bank Income Smoothing, Institutions and Corruption," MPRA Paper 92339, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    11. Ozili, Peterson K, 2021. "Banking sector earnings management using loan loss provisions in the Fintech era," MPRA Paper 105083, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    12. Ozili, Peterson K & Outa, Erick R, 2018. "Bank Earnings Smoothing During Mandatory IFRS adoption in Nigeria," MPRA Paper 89690, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    13. García Osma, Beatriz & Mora, Araceli & Porcuna-Enguix, Luis, 2019. "Prudential supervisors’ independence and income smoothing in European banks," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 102(C), pages 156-176.
    14. Ozili, Peterson K, 2020. "Bank loan loss provisioning during election years: cross-country evidence," MPRA Paper 96639, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    15. Doan, Anh-Tuan & Lin, Kun-Li & Doong, Shuh-Chyi, 2020. "State-controlled banks and income smoothing. Do politics matter?," The North American Journal of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 51(C).
    16. Miller, Steve M. & Moussawi, Rabih & Wang, Bin & Yang, Tina, 2021. "Institutional investors and bank governance: An international analysis of bank earnings management," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 70(C).
    17. Egor Nikulin & Jeff Downing, 2021. "Loan-loss provisions, earnings management, and capital management by Russian banks: the impact of changes in banking regulation and oversight," Eurasian Business Review, Springer;Eurasia Business and Economics Society, vol. 11(4), pages 659-677, December.
    18. Harry Huizinga & Luc Laeven, 2019. "The Procyclicality of Banking: Evidence from the Euro Area," IMF Economic Review, Palgrave Macmillan;International Monetary Fund, vol. 67(3), pages 496-527, September.
    19. Peterson K. Ozili & Thankom G. Arun, 2023. "What drives bank income smoothing? Evidence from Africa," International Journal of Disclosure and Governance, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 20(3), pages 274-295, September.
    20. Ozili, Peterson K, 2019. "Bank loan loss provisioning during election years in Nigeria," MPRA Paper 96704, University Library of Munich, Germany.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    banks; earnings management; loan loss provisions; income smoothing;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • G01 - Financial Economics - - General - - - Financial Crises
    • G20 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - General
    • 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
    • G29 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - Other
    • M00 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - General - - - General
    • M40 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Accounting - - - General
    • M41 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Accounting - - - Accounting
    • M42 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Accounting - - - Auditing
    • M48 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Accounting - - - Government Policy and Regulation
    • M49 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Accounting - - - Other
    • O55 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economywide Country Studies - - - Africa
    • O57 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economywide Country Studies - - - Comparative Studies of Countries

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    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:pra:mprapa:108506. 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: Joachim Winter (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/vfmunde.html .

    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.