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The wolves of Wall Street? Managerial attributes and bank risk

Author

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  • Hagendorff, Jens
  • Saunders, Anthony
  • Steffen, Sascha
  • Vallascas, Francesco

Abstract

We find that chief executive officers and chief financial officers exert significant individual effects on bank risk. Manager transitions, including transitions generated by plausibly exogenous manager departures, lead to abnormally large changes in bank risk. We demonstrate that the effects of managers on bank risk are sizable and manager-specific. The effects are also partly anticipated by the board because they are reflected in managers’ pay. However, wide-ranging personal attributes, including biographical, experience, and compensation data, only explain a small share of managers’ impact on bank risk. This implies that attempts to rein in bank risk-taking by targeting manager characteristics will be challenging for investors and regulators.

Suggested Citation

  • Hagendorff, Jens & Saunders, Anthony & Steffen, Sascha & Vallascas, Francesco, 2021. "The wolves of Wall Street? Managerial attributes and bank risk," Journal of Financial Intermediation, Elsevier, vol. 47(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jfinin:v:47:y:2021:i:c:s104295732100022x
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jfi.2021.100921
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Larry D. Wall, 2020. "Is stricter regulation of incentive compensation the missing piece?," Journal of Banking Regulation, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 21(1), pages 82-94, March.
    2. Stieglitz, Moritz & Wagner, Konstantin, 2020. "Marginal returns to talent for material risk takers in banking," IWH Discussion Papers 20/2020, Halle Institute for Economic Research (IWH).
    3. Johannes Carow, 2024. "A critical assessment of the two-way fixed-effects model for firm-level dependent variables," Working Papers 2405, Gutenberg School of Management and Economics, Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz.
    4. Lo, Andrew W. & Thakor, Richard T., 2023. "Financial intermediation and the funding of biomedical innovation: A review," Journal of Financial Intermediation, Elsevier, vol. 54(C).
    5. Quang Trinh, Vu & Duong Cao, Ngan & Li, Teng & Elnahass, Marwa, 2023. "Social capital, trust, and bank tail risk: The value of ESG rating and the effects of crisis shocks," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 83(C).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Banks; Managers; Risk; Corporate governance; CEO; CFO;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • G21 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - Banks; Other Depository Institutions; Micro Finance Institutions; Mortgages
    • G32 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Financing Policy; Financial Risk and Risk Management; Capital and Ownership Structure; Value of Firms; Goodwill
    • G34 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Mergers; Acquisitions; Restructuring; Corporate Governance

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