IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/cpr/ceprdp/13605.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

The Procyclicality of Banking: Evidence from the Euro Area

Author

Listed:
  • Laeven, Luc
  • Huizinga, Harry

Abstract

Loan loss provisions in the euro area are negatively related to GDP growth, i.e., they are procyclical. Loan loss provisions tend to be more procyclical at larger and better capitalized banks. The procyclicality of loan loss provisions can explain about two-thirds of the variation of bank capitalization over the business cycle. We estimate that provisioning procyclicality in the euro area is about twice as large as in other advanced economies. This difference reflects a larger procyclicality of provisioning in euro area countries already prior to euro adoption, and the divergent growth experiences of euro area countries following the global financial crisis.

Suggested Citation

  • Laeven, Luc & Huizinga, Harry, 2019. "The Procyclicality of Banking: Evidence from the Euro Area," CEPR Discussion Papers 13605, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    • Handle: RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:13605
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://cepr.org/publications/DP13605
    Download Restriction: CEPR Discussion Papers are free to download for our researchers, subscribers and members. If you fall into one of these categories but have trouble downloading our papers, please contact us at subscribers@cepr.org
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to look for a different version below or search for a different version of it.

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Philip R Lane & Livio Stracca, 2018. "Can appreciation be expansionary? Evidence from the euro area," Economic Policy, CEPR, CESifo, Sciences Po;CES;MSH, vol. 33(94), pages 225-264.
    2. Berger, Allen N. & Bouwman, Christa H.S., 2013. "How does capital affect bank performance during financial crises?," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 109(1), pages 146-176.
    3. Laeven, Luc & Majnoni, Giovanni, 2003. "Loan loss provisioning and economic slowdowns: too much, too late?," Journal of Financial Intermediation, Elsevier, vol. 12(2), pages 178-197, April.
    4. Anginer, Deniz & Demirguc-Kunt, Asli & Huizinga, Harry & Ma, Kebin, 2013. "How does corporate governance affect bank capitalization strategies ?," Policy Research Working Paper Series 6636, The World Bank.
    5. Rafael Repullo & Javier Suarez, 2013. "The Procyclical Effects of Bank Capital Regulation," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 26(2), pages 452-490.
    6. Liangliang Jiang & Ross Levine & Chen Lin, 2016. "Competition and Bank Opacity," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 29(7), pages 1911-1942.
    7. Beatty, Anne & Liao, Scott, 2014. "Financial accounting in the banking industry: A review of the empirical literature," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 58(2), pages 339-383.
    8. Bouvatier, Vincent & Lepetit, Laetitia, 2012. "Provisioning rules and bank lending: A theoretical model," Journal of Financial Stability, Elsevier, vol. 8(1), pages 25-31.
    9. Peterson K. Ozili & Erick Outa, 2017. "Bank loan loss provisions research: A review," Borsa Istanbul Review, Research and Business Development Department, Borsa Istanbul, vol. 17(3), pages 144-163, September.
    10. Jiménez, Gabriel & Ongena, Steven & Peydró, José-Luis & Saurina, Jesús, 2017. "Macroprudential policy, countercyclical bank capital buffers and credit supply: evidence from the spanish dynamic provisioning experiments," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 125(6), pages 2126-2177.
    11. Bikker, J.A. & Metzemakers, P.A.J., 2005. "Bank provisioning behaviour and procyclicality," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 15(2), pages 141-157, April.
    12. Krugman, Paul & Taylor, Lance, 1978. "Contractionary effects of devaluation," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 8(3), pages 445-456, August.
    13. Giovanni Dell’ariccia & Deniz Igan & Luc Laeven, 2012. "Credit Booms and Lending Standards: Evidence from the Subprime Mortgage Market," Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 44, pages 367-384, March.
    14. Abad, Jorge & Suarez, Javier, 2017. "Assessing the cyclical implications of IFRS 9 – a recursive model," ESRB Occasional Paper Series 12, European Systemic Risk Board.
    15. Ben S. Bernanke & Cara S. Lown, 1991. "The Credit Crunch," Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, Economic Studies Program, The Brookings Institution, vol. 22(2), pages 205-248.
    16. Anil K. Kashyap & Jeremy C. Stein, 2004. "Cyclical implications of the Basel II capital standards," Economic Perspectives, Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, vol. 28(Q I), pages 18-31.
    17. Bouvatier, Vincent & Lepetit, Laetitia, 2012. "Provisioning rules and bank lending: A theoretical model," Journal of Financial Stability, Elsevier, vol. 8(1), pages 25-31.
    18. James R. Barth & Gerard Caprio & Ross Levine, 2013. "Bank regulation and supervision in 180 countries from 1999 to 2011," Journal of Financial Economic Policy, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 5(2), pages 111-219, May.
    19. Ahmed, Anwer S. & Takeda, Carolyn & Thomas, Shawn, 1999. "Bank loan loss provisions: a reexamination of capital management, earnings management and signaling effects," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 28(1), pages 1-25, November.
    20. Eliana Balla & Jessica Sackett Romero & Morgan J. Rose, 2012. "Loan loss reserve accounting and bank behavior," Richmond Fed Economic Brief, Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, issue Mar.
    21. Małgorzata Olszak & Mateusz Pipień & Iwona Kowalska & Sylwia Roszkowska, 2017. "What Drives Heterogeneity of Cyclicality of Loan-Loss Provisions in the EU?," Journal of Financial Services Research, Springer;Western Finance Association, vol. 51(1), pages 55-96, February.
    22. Shekhar Aiyar & Charles W Calomiris & Tomasz Wieladek, 2015. "Bank Capital Regulation: Theory, Empirics, and Policy," IMF Economic Review, Palgrave Macmillan;International Monetary Fund, vol. 63(4), pages 955-983, November.
    23. Robert M. Bushman & Christopher D. Williams, 2015. "Delayed Expected Loss Recognition and the Risk Profile of Banks," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 53(3), pages 511-553, June.
    24. Ozili, Peterson K, 2017. "Bank Loan Loss Provisions Research: A Review," MPRA Paper 76495, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    25. Ozili, Peterson K, 2017. "Bank Loan Loss Provisions, Investor Protection and the Macroeconomy," MPRA Paper 80147, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    26. Johnson, Harry G, 1976. "Elasticity, Absorption, Keynesian Multiplier, Keynesian Policy, and Monetary Approaches to Devaluation Theory: A Simple Geometric Exposition," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 66(3), pages 448-452, June.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Manuela M. Dantas & Kenneth J. Merkley & Felipe B. G. Silva, 2023. "Government Guarantees and Banks’ Income Smoothing," Journal of Financial Services Research, Springer;Western Finance Association, vol. 63(2), pages 123-173, April.
    2. García Osma, Beatriz & Mora, Araceli & Porcuna-Enguix, Luis, 2019. "Prudential supervisors’ independence and income smoothing in European banks," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 102(C), pages 156-176.
    3. Manuela M. Dantas & Kenneth J. Merkley & Felipe B. G. Silva, 2023. "Government Guarantees and Banks' Income Smoothing," Papers 2303.03661, arXiv.org.
    4. Ozili, Peterson Kitakogelu, 2021. "Bank earnings management using loan loss provisions: comparing the UK, France, South Africa and Egypt," MPRA Paper 108506, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    5. Ozili, Peterson K, 2018. "Banking Stability Determinants in Africa," MPRA Paper 101825, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    6. Ozili, Peterson K & Outa, Erick R, 2018. "Bank Earnings Smoothing During Mandatory IFRS adoption in Nigeria," MPRA Paper 89690, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    7. Andries, Kathleen & Gallemore, John & Jacob, Martin, 2017. "The effect of corporate taxation on bank transparency: Evidence from loan loss provisions," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 63(2), pages 307-328.
    8. Jari-Mikko Meriläinen, 2019. "Western European Stakeholder Banks’ Loan Loss Accounting," Journal of Financial Services Research, Springer;Western Finance Association, vol. 56(2), pages 185-207, October.
    9. Ozili, Peterson K, 2021. "Banking sector earnings management using loan loss provisions in the Fintech era," MPRA Paper 105083, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    10. Ozili, Peterson K, 2019. "Bank loan loss provisions, risk-taking and bank intangibles," MPRA Paper 90273, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    11. Ozili, Peterson K & Outa, Erick R, 2018. "Bank Income Smoothing in South Africa: Role of Ownership, IFRS and Economic fluctuation," MPRA Paper 102567, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    12. Pandey, Ashish & Guhathakurta, Kousik, 2022. "Value relevance of loan loss provision components and the choice of model specification," Advances in accounting, Elsevier, vol. 58(C).
    13. Skała, Dorota, 2020. "Shareholder shocks and loan loss provisions in Central European banks," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 69(C).
    14. Tran, Dung Viet & Hassan, M. Kabir & Houston, Reza, 2019. "Activity strategies, information asymmetry, and bank opacity," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 83(C), pages 160-172.
    15. Ozili, Peterson K, 2019. "Impact of IAS 39 reclassification on Income Smoothing by European Banks," MPRA Paper 92098, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    16. Di Fabio, Costanza & Ramassa, Paola & Quagli, Alberto, 2021. "Income smoothing in European banks: The contrasting effects of monitoring mechanisms," Journal of International Accounting, Auditing and Taxation, Elsevier, vol. 43(C).
    17. de Haan, Leo & van Oordt, Maarten R.C., 2018. "Timing of banks’ loan loss provisioning during the crisis," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 87(C), pages 293-303.
    18. Ozili, Peterson K, 2020. "Bank loan loss provisioning during election years: cross-country evidence," MPRA Paper 96639, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    19. Ozili, Peterson K., 2019. "Bank income smoothing, institutions and corruption," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 49(C), pages 82-99.
    20. Ozili, Peterson K, 2019. "Bank loan loss provisioning during election years in Nigeria," MPRA Paper 96704, University Library of Munich, Germany.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Financial institutions; Financial regulation; Procyclicality;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • G20 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - General

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:13605. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: the person in charge (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.cepr.org .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.