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The Determinants of Capital Structure: Some Evidence from Banks

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  • Heider, Florian
  • Gropp, Reint E.

Abstract

This paper documents that standard cross-sectional determinants of firm leverage also apply to the capital structure of large banks in the United States and Europe. We find a remarkable consistency in sign, significance and economic magnitude. Like non-financial firms, banks appear to have stable capital structures at levels that are specific to each individual bank. The results suggest that capital requirements may only be of second-order importance for banks? capital structures and confirm the robustness of current corporate finance findings in a holdout sample of banks.

Suggested Citation

  • Heider, Florian & Gropp, Reint E., 2008. "The Determinants of Capital Structure: Some Evidence from Banks," ZEW Discussion Papers 08-015, ZEW - Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research.
    • Handle: RePEc:zbw:zewdip:7224
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    Cited by:

    1. Klepczarek Emilia, 2015. "Determinants Of European Banks' Capital Adequacy / Determinanty Adekwatności Kapitałowej Banków Europejskich," Comparative Economic Research, Sciendo, vol. 18(4), pages 81-98, December.
    2. Allen, Franklin & Carletti, Elena & Marquez, Robert, 2015. "Deposits and bank capital structure," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 118(3), pages 601-619.
    3. Ahmed Imran Hunjra & Qasim Zureigat & Rashid Mehmood, 2020. "Impact of Capital Regulation and Market Discipline on Capital Ratio Selection: A Cross Country Study," IJFS, MDPI, vol. 8(2), pages 1-13, April.
    4. Tigran Poghosyan & Martin Čihak, 2011. "Determinants of Bank Distress in Europe: Evidence from a New Data Set," Journal of Financial Services Research, Springer;Western Finance Association, vol. 40(3), pages 163-184, December.
    5. Kamal Naser & Abdullah Al-Mutairi & Ahmad Al Kandari & Rana Nuseibeh, 2015. "Cogency of Capital Structure Theories to an Islamic Country: Empirical Evidence from the Kuwaiti Banks," International Journal of Economics and Financial Issues, Econjournals, vol. 5(4), pages 979-988.
    6. Berg, Tobias & Kaserer, Christoph, 2011. "Convert-to-Surrender Bonds: A Proposal of How to Reduce Risk-Taking Incentives in the Banking System," VfS Annual Conference 2011 (Frankfurt, Main): The Order of the World Economy - Lessons from the Crisis 48737, Verein für Socialpolitik / German Economic Association.
    7. Jokipii, Terhi & Milne, Alistair, 2011. "Bank capital buffer and risk adjustment decisions," Journal of Financial Stability, Elsevier, vol. 7(3), pages 165-178, August.
    8. Ioan Trenca & Daniela Bozga & Daniela Zapodeanu & Mihail Ioan Cociuba, 2017. "Considerations On The Strategy Of Commercial Banks In The Context Of The Financial System Development For The Period 2005-2013," Annals of Faculty of Economics, University of Oradea, Faculty of Economics, vol. 1(2), pages 248-258, December.
    9. Memmel, Christoph & Raupach, Peter, 2010. "How do banks adjust their capital ratios?," Journal of Financial Intermediation, Elsevier, vol. 19(4), pages 509-528, October.
    10. Alain Angora & Isabelle Distinguin & Clovis Rugemintwari, 2011. "A Note on Bank Capital Buffer: Does Bank Heterogeneity matter?," Post-Print hal-00785109, HAL.
    11. Mr. Tigran Poghosyan & Mr. Martin Cihak, 2009. "Distress in European Banks: An Analysis Basedon a New Dataset," IMF Working Papers 2009/009, International Monetary Fund.
    12. Andreas Hadjixenophontos & Christos Christodoulou-Volos, 2018. "Financial Crisis and Capital Adequacy Ratio: A Case Study for Cypriot Commercial Banks," Journal of Applied Finance & Banking, SCIENPRESS Ltd, vol. 8(3), pages 1-6.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    capital structure; corporate finance; leverage; bank capital; banking regulation;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • G32 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Financing Policy; Financial Risk and Risk Management; Capital and Ownership Structure; Value of Firms; Goodwill
    • G21 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - Banks; Other Depository Institutions; Micro Finance Institutions; Mortgages

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