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Do dynamic provisions reduce income smoothing using loan Loss provisions?

Author

Listed:
  • Daniel Pérez

    (Banco de España)

  • Vicente Salas-Fumás

    (Universidad de Zaragoza and Banco de España)

  • Jesús Saurina

    (Banco de España)

Abstract

Spanish banks had to set aside a countercyclical loan loss provision during the period 2000 2004. The amount of such provision as well as the allowance accumulated had to be disclosed by banks. The former creates a natural experiment to test whether banks smooth earnings to mislead investors and other interested parties, or, by contrast, income smoothing is used to avoid the existence of market frictions. Using panel data econometric techniques, we find evidence of income smoothing through loan loss provisions during the period previous to the implementation of the countercyclical provision (1988-1999). However, during 2000-2004, banks relied only on the newly created countercyclical provision to smooth income. This change in behaviour suggests that there may be efficiency gains in reducing the volatility of accounting earnings over time.

Suggested Citation

  • Daniel Pérez & Vicente Salas-Fumás & Jesús Saurina, 2011. "Do dynamic provisions reduce income smoothing using loan Loss provisions?," Working Papers 1118, Banco de España.
    • Handle: RePEc:bde:wpaper:1118
    as

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    File URL: http://www.bde.es/f/webbde/SES/Secciones/Publicaciones/PublicacionesSeriadas/DocumentosTrabajo/11/Fich/dt1118e.pdf
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Emrah Arbak, 2017. "Identifying the provisioning policies of Belgian banks," Working Paper Research 326, National Bank of Belgium.
    2. Ali Ashraf & M. Kabir Hassan & Kyle J. Putnam & Arja Turunen-Red, 2019. "Prudential Regulatory Regimes, Accounting Standards, And Earnings Management In The Banking Industry," Bulletin of Monetary Economics and Banking, Bank Indonesia, vol. 21(3), pages 1-28, January.
    3. Ali Ashraf & M. Kabir Hassan & Syed Abul Basher, 2015. "Loan Loss Provisioning in OIC Countries: Evidence from Conventional vs. Islamic Banks مخصصات مواجهة القروض المشكوك في تحصيلها في دول مجلس التعاون الإسلامي: دراسة حالة البنوك التقليدية في مقابل البنوك ," Journal of King Abdulaziz University: Islamic Economics, King Abdulaziz University, Islamic Economics Institute., vol. 28(1), pages 21-54, January.
    4. 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).
    5. Gambetta, Nicolás & García-Benau, María Antonia & Zorio-Grima, Ana, 2016. "Data analytics in banks' audit: The case of loan loss provisions in Uruguay," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 69(11), pages 4793-4797.
    6. Emrah Arbak, 2017. "Identifying the provisioning policies of Belgian banks," Working Paper Research 326, National Bank of Belgium.
    7. Ali, Ashraf & M. Kabir, Hassan & Syed Abul, Basher, 2015. "Loan Loss Provisioning in OIC Countries: Evidence from Conventional vs. Islamic Banks," MPRA Paper 61687, University Library of Munich, Germany.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    income smoothing; earnings management; transparency; countercyclical provisioning;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • G18 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - Government Policy and Regulation
    • G21 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - Banks; Other Depository Institutions; Micro Finance Institutions; Mortgages
    • M41 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Accounting - - - Accounting

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