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Bank Cash Holdings and Investor Uncertainty

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  • Benoît D'Udekem

Abstract

Cash holdings have often been presumed to help resolve the inherent uncertainty of assessing banks. Nonetheless, extant empirical evidence is inconclusive. The present paper adopts a novel approach to assessing the level of stockholder uncertainty associated with the cash holdings reported by European banks before, during, and after the financial crisis of 2007-2009. The paper finds that stockholder uncertainty may be significant when cash holdings exceed or fall short of the levels warranted to meet depositor demands. It concludes that investors monitor bank cash holdings in relation to short-term liabilities. Cash holdings may thus contribute to making banks more opaque.

Suggested Citation

  • Benoît D'Udekem, 2014. "Bank Cash Holdings and Investor Uncertainty," Working Papers CEB 14-002, ULB -- Universite Libre de Bruxelles.
    • Handle: RePEc:sol:wpaper:2013/154161
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Banks; liquidity; opaque assets; stockholder uncertainty;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • G21 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - Banks; Other Depository Institutions; Micro Finance Institutions; Mortgages
    • G24 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - Investment Banking; Venture Capital; Brokerage
    • 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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