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The carrot and the stick: Bank bailouts and the disciplining role of board appointments

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  • Mücke, Christian
  • Pelizzon, Loriana
  • Pezone, Vincenzo
  • Thakor, Anjan V.

Abstract

We empirically examine the Capital Purchase Program (CPP) used by the US government to bail out distressed banks with equity infusions during the Great Recession. We find strong evidence that a feature of the CPP - the government's ability to appoint independent directors on the board of an assisted bank that missed six dividend payments to the Treasury - helped attenuate bailout-related moral hazard. Banks were averse to these appointments - the empirical distribution of missed payments exhibits a sharp discontinuity at five. Director appointments by the Treasury led to improved bank performance, lower CEO pay, and higher stock market valuations.

Suggested Citation

  • Mücke, Christian & Pelizzon, Loriana & Pezone, Vincenzo & Thakor, Anjan V., 2021. "The carrot and the stick: Bank bailouts and the disciplining role of board appointments," SAFE Working Paper Series 316, Leibniz Institute for Financial Research SAFE, revised 2021.
    • Handle: RePEc:zbw:safewp:316
    DOI: 10.2139/ssrn.3881871
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    Cited by:

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    2. Hryckiewicz, Aneta & Kryg, Natalia & Tsomocos, Dimitrios P. & Zadorozhna, Olha, 2025. "Unveiling the power of state activism in times of distress," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 86(C), pages 1346-1376.
    3. Martynova, Natalya & Perotti, Enrico & Suarez, Javier, 2022. "Capital forbearance in the bank recovery and resolution game," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 146(3), pages 884-904.
    4. Couaillier, Cyril & Reghezza, Alessio & Rodriguez d’Acri, Costanza & Scopelliti, Alessandro, 2025. "How to release capital requirements in an economic downturn? Evidence from euro area credit register," Journal of Financial Intermediation, Elsevier, vol. 63(C).
    5. Goetz, Martin R. & Laeven, Luc & Levine, Ross, 2025. "Do bank insiders impede equity issuances?," Journal of Financial Intermediation, Elsevier, vol. 64(C).
    6. Allen N. Berger & Onesime Epouhe & Raluca Roman, 2021. "A Tale of Two Bailouts: Effects of TARP and PPP on Subprime Consumer Debt," Working Papers 21-32, Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia.

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    Keywords

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    JEL classification:

    • G01 - Financial Economics - - General - - - Financial Crises
    • G2 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services
    • G28 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - Government Policy and Regulation
    • G38 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Government Policy and Regulation
    • H81 - Public Economics - - Miscellaneous Issues - - - Governmental Loans; Loan Guarantees; Credits; Grants; Bailouts

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