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Are Scale Economies in Banking Elusive or Illusive?

Author

Listed:
  • Joseph P. Hughes

    (Rutgers University)

  • Loretta J. Mester

    (Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia)

  • Choon-Geol Moon

    (Hanyang University)

Abstract

This paper explores how to incorporate banks' capital structure and risk-taking into models of production. In doing so, the paper bridges the gulf between (1) the banking literature that studies moral hazard effects of bank regulation without considering the underlying microeconomics of production and (2) the literature that uses dual profit and cost functions to study the microeconomics of bank production without explicitly considering how banks' production decisions influence their riskiness. Various production models that differ in how they account for capital structure and in the objectives they impute to bank managers—cost minimization versus value maximization—are estimated using U.S. data on highest-level bank holding companies. Modeling the bank's objective as value maximization conveniently incorporates both market-priced risk and expected cash flow into managers' ranking and choice of production plans. Estimated scale economies are found to depend critically on how banks' capital structure and risk-taking is modeled. In particular, when equity capital, in addition to debt, is included in the production model and cost is computed from the value-maximizing expansion path rather than the cost-minimizing path, banks are found to have large scale economies that increase with size. Moreover, better diversification is associated with larger scale economies while increased risk-taking and inefficient risk-taking are associated with smaller scale economies.

Suggested Citation

  • Joseph P. Hughes & Loretta J. Mester & Choon-Geol Moon, 2000. "Are Scale Economies in Banking Elusive or Illusive?," Departmental Working Papers 200004, Rutgers University, Department of Economics.
  • Handle: RePEc:rut:rutres:200004
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Charles W. Calomiris & Doron Nissim, 2007. "Activity-Based Valuation of Bank Holding Companies," NBER Working Papers 12918, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    2. Koutsomanoli-Filippaki, Anastasia & Mamatzakis, Emmanuel, 2009. "Performance and Merton-type default risk of listed banks in the EU: A panel VAR approach," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 33(11), pages 2050-2061, November.
    3. Carow, Kenneth A. & Kane, Edward J., 2002. "Event-study evidence of the value of relaxing long-standing regulatory restraints on banks, 1970-2000," The Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 42(3), pages 439-463.
    4. Calomiris, Charles W. & Nissim, Doron, 2014. "Crisis-related shifts in the market valuation of banking activities," Journal of Financial Intermediation, Elsevier, vol. 23(3), pages 400-435.
    5. Thierno Amadou Barry & Santos José O. Dacanay & Laetitia Lepetit & Amine Tarazi, 2008. "Ownership Structure and Bank Efficiency in the asia pacific region," Working Papers hal-00915134, HAL.
    6. Hughes, Joseph P. & Lang, William W. & Mester, Loretta J. & Moon, Choon-Geol & Pagano, Michael S., 2003. "Do bankers sacrifice value to build empires? Managerial incentives, industry consolidation, and financial performance," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 27(3), pages 417-447, March.
    7. Christopher Marshall & Michael Siegel, 1996. "Value at Risk: Implementing a Risk Measurement Standard," Center for Financial Institutions Working Papers 96-47, Wharton School Center for Financial Institutions, University of Pennsylvania.
    8. Joseph Hughes & William Lang & Loretta Mester & Choon-Geol Moon, 2000. "Recovering Risky Technologies Using the Almost Ideal Demand System: An Application to U.S. Banking," Journal of Financial Services Research, Springer;Western Finance Association, vol. 18(1), pages 5-27, October.
    9. Eugenia Mardanugraha & Muliaman D. Hadad, 2005. "EVALUATION OF BANK MERGER IN INDONESIA: Lessons from Parametric Cost Function," Bulletin of Monetary Economics and Banking, Bank Indonesia, vol. 8(1), pages 117-132, June.
    10. Trevor Fitzpatrick & Kieran McQuinn, 2005. "Labour Cost Efficiency in UK and Irish Credit Institutions," The Economic and Social Review, Economic and Social Studies, vol. 36(1), pages 45-66.
    11. Dairo Estrada & Poldy Osorio, 2004. "Effects of Financial Capital on Colombian Banking Efficiency," Revista ESPE - Ensayos sobre Política Económica, Banco de la Republica de Colombia, vol. 22(47), pages 162-201, December.
    12. Lindquist, Kjersti-Gro, 2004. "Banks' buffer capital: how important is risk," Journal of International Money and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 23(3), pages 493-513, April.
    13. Lamberte, Mario B. & Desrochers, Martin, 2002. "Efficiency and Expense Preference in the Philippines' Cooperative Rural Banks," Discussion Papers DP 2002-12, Philippine Institute for Development Studies.
    14. Darren Pain, 2003. "The provisioning experience of the major UK banks: a small panel investigation," Bank of England working papers 177, Bank of England.
    15. Estrella, Arturo, 2001. "Mixing and matching: Prospective financial sector mergers and market valuation," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 25(12), pages 2367-2392, December.
    16. Kjersti-Gro Lindquist, 2003. "Banks’ buffer capital: How important is risk?," Working Paper 2003/11, Norges Bank.
    17. Akhigbe, Aigbe & McNulty, James E., 2003. "The profit efficiency of small US commercial banks," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 27(2), pages 307-325, February.
    18. Huberto M. Ennis & H. S. Malek, 2005. "Bank risk of failure and the too-big-to-fail policy," Economic Quarterly, Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, vol. 91(Spr), pages 21-44.
    19. Fitzpatrick, Trevor & McQuinn, Kieran, 2004. "Cost Efficiency in UK and Irish Credit Institutions," Research Technical Papers 3/RT/04, Central Bank of Ireland.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    banking; risk; scale economies;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D20 - Microeconomics - - Production and Organizations - - - General
    • D21 - Microeconomics - - Production and Organizations - - - Firm Behavior: Theory
    • G21 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - Banks; Other Depository Institutions; Micro Finance Institutions; Mortgages

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