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Supranational Rules, National Discretion: Increasing Versus Inflating Regulatory Bank Capital?

Author

Listed:
  • Gropp, Reint
  • Mosk, Thomas
  • Ongena, Steven
  • Simac, Ines
  • Wix, Carlo

Abstract

We study how banks use “regulatory adjustments” to inflate their regulatory capital ratios and whether this depends on forbearance on the part of national authorities. Using the 2011 EBA capital exercise as a quasi-natural experiment, we find that banks substantially inflated their levels of regulatory capital via a reduction in regulatory adjustments (without a commensurate increase in book equity and without a reduction in bank risk). We document substantial heterogeneity in regulatory capital inflation across countries, suggesting that national authorities forbear their domestic banks to meet supranational requirements, with a focus on short-term economic considerations.

Suggested Citation

  • Gropp, Reint & Mosk, Thomas & Ongena, Steven & Simac, Ines & Wix, Carlo, 2024. "Supranational Rules, National Discretion: Increasing Versus Inflating Regulatory Bank Capital?," Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 59(2), pages 830-862, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:cup:jfinqa:v:59:y:2024:i:2:p:830-862_12
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    Cited by:

    1. Nistor, Simona & Fărcaș, Ioana Georgiana, 2025. "Does national culture affect macroprudential policy? An international investigation of regulatory behavior on macroprudential interventions," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Finance, Elsevier, vol. 45(C).
    2. Bednarek, Peter & Briukhova, Olga & Ongena, Steven & Westernhagen, Natalja v., 2025. "Effects of bank capital requirements on lending by banks and non-bank financial institutions," Journal of Financial Intermediation, Elsevier, vol. 63(C).
    3. Sylwia Klus & Artur Stefanski & Zuzanna Urbanowicz & Leszek Wanat, 2024. "Capital Adequacy Standards on the Case of Selected Banks in Poland Under Economic Uncertainty," European Research Studies Journal, European Research Studies Journal, vol. 0(2), pages 517-530.
    4. Martynova, Natalya & Perotti, Enrico & Suarez, Javier, 2022. "Capital forbearance in the bank recovery and resolution game," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 146(3), pages 884-904.
    5. Jermann, Urban & Xiang, Haotian, 2025. "Rules versus discretion in capital regulation," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 169(C).
    6. Luciana Orozco & Silvina Rubio, 2025. "Regulatory Capital Management to Exceed Thresholds," Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 57(6), pages 1421-1464, September.
    7. Nicholas Fritsch & Jan-Peter Siedlarek, 2022. "How Do Banks Respond to Capital Regulation? — The Impact of the Basel III Reforms in the United States," Working Papers 22-11, Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland.
    8. Bank for International Settlements, 2025. "Bank capital and balance sheet management during times of distress: international evidence (July 2025, revised August 2025)," BCBS Working Papers 46, Bank for International Settlements.

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • 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

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