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When the cat's away the mice will play: does regulation at home affect bank risk taking abroad?

Author

Listed:
  • Ongena, Steven
  • Popov, Alexander
  • Udell, Gregory F.

Abstract

This paper provides the first empirical evidence that bank regulation is associated with cross-border spillover effects through the lending activities of large multinational banks. We analyze business lending by 155 banks to 9613 firms in 1976 different localities across 16 countries. We find that lower barriers to entry, tighter restrictions on bank activities, and higher minimum capital requirements in domestic markets are associated with lower bank lending standards abroad. The effects are stronger when banks are less efficiently supervised at home, and are observed to exist independently from the impact of host-country regulation. JEL Classification: G21, G28, G32

Suggested Citation

  • Ongena, Steven & Popov, Alexander & Udell, Gregory F., 2012. "When the cat's away the mice will play: does regulation at home affect bank risk taking abroad?," Working Paper Series 1488, European Central Bank.
  • Handle: RePEc:ecb:ecbwps:20121488
    Note: 861282
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    bank regulation; cross-border financial institutions; financial risk; Lending standards;
    All these keywords.

    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
    • G32 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Financing Policy; Financial Risk and Risk Management; Capital and Ownership Structure; Value of Firms; Goodwill

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