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Financial statement comparability and bank risk-taking

Author

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  • Hasan, Mostafa Monzur
  • Cheung, Adrian (Wai Kong)
  • Taylor, Grantley

Abstract

This study examines the relationship between financial statement comparability and bank risk-taking. Our analysis of a sample of publicly listed U.S. banks over the 1994–2019 period shows that banks with more comparable financial statements are related to significantly less risk-taking. We also find that the negative relationship between comparability and risk-taking is more pronounced for firms with more severe moral hazard and agency problems. Our documented findings are robust across alternative measures of comparability and risk-taking and considering change analysis, after controlling for strength of corporate governance and using propensity score matching and two-stage least squares estimation to address endogeneity concerns. Our analysis also shows that the relationship between financial statement comparability and bank risk-taking is stronger for smaller banks than for larger banks. Overall, this study provides unique insights into the role of financial statement comparability in curbing risk-taking in the banking sector.

Suggested Citation

  • Hasan, Mostafa Monzur & Cheung, Adrian (Wai Kong) & Taylor, Grantley, 2020. "Financial statement comparability and bank risk-taking," Journal of Contemporary Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 16(3).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jocaae:v:16:y:2020:i:3:s1815566920300230
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jcae.2020.100206
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    JEL classification:

    • D81 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty - - - Criteria for Decision-Making under Risk and Uncertainty
    • G21 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - Banks; Other Depository Institutions; Micro Finance Institutions; Mortgages
    • G3 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance

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