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Politicians' promotion incentives and bank risk exposure in China

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  • Wang, Li
  • Menkhoff, Lukas
  • Schröder, Michael
  • Xu, Xian

Abstract

This paper shows that politicians' pressure to climb the career ladder increases bank risk exposure in their region. Chinese local politicians are set growth targets in their region that are relative to each other. Growth is stimulated by debt-financed programs which are mainly financed via bank loans. The stronger the performance incentive the riskier the respective local bank exposure becomes. This effect holds primarily for local banks which are under a certain degree of control of local politicians and it has increased with the release of recent stimulus packages requiring local co-financing.

Suggested Citation

  • Wang, Li & Menkhoff, Lukas & Schröder, Michael & Xu, Xian, 2015. "Politicians' promotion incentives and bank risk exposure in China," ZEW Discussion Papers 15-026, ZEW - Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research.
    • Handle: RePEc:zbw:zewdip:15026
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    Cited by:

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    2. Chen, Haiqiang & Lin, Zhe, 2024. "Local fiscal pressure and shadow banking activities of nonfinancial enterprises–A story of government intervention," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 62(PB).
    3. Liang, Quanxi & Huang, Jinlan & Liang, Mingjun & Li, Jingxiang, 2024. "Economic growth targets and bank risk exposure: Evidence from China," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 135(C).
    4. Cheng, Junguo & Wang, Lei & He, Jing, 2023. "Political promotion incentives and banking supervision: Evidence from a quasi-natural experiment in China," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 156(C).
    5. Tian, Yunlin & Pan, Xiaofei & Pang, Baoqing & Wu, Yiping, 2023. "Political career concerns and bank lending in China," Emerging Markets Review, Elsevier, vol. 54(C).
    6. Yuyuan Chang & Wen He & Jianling Wang, 2021. "Government Initiated Corporate Social Responsibility Activities: Evidence from a Poverty Alleviation Campaign in China," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 173(4), pages 661-685, November.
    7. Duan, Yuejiao & Liu, Lanbiao & Zhang, Jingjia, 2024. "The belt and road initiative and the over-leverage of securities companies," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 85(C).
    8. Wan, Junmin, 2018. "Non-performing loans and housing prices in China," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 57(C), pages 26-42.
    9. Hou, Liming & Hsueh, Shao-Chieh & Zhang, Shuoxun, 2020. "Does formal financial development crowd in informal financing? Evidence from Chinese private enterprises," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 90(C), pages 288-301.
    10. Deng, Jiapin & Liu, Qiao, 2024. "Good finance, bad finance, and resource misallocation: Evidence from China," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 159(C).
    11. Ren, Meixu & Ke, Konglin & Yu, Xin & Zhao, Jinxuan, 2023. "Local governments' economic growth target pressure and bank loan loss provision: Evidence from China," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 87(C), pages 1-14.
    12. Pauline Avril & Gregory Levieuge & Camelia Turcu, 2023. "Do bankers want their umbrellas back when it rains? Evidence from typhoons in China," Working Papers 2023.08, International Network for Economic Research - INFER.
    13. Zhuo Chen & Mingzhi Hu & Zhiyi Qiu, 2022. "Promotion Pressures of Local Leaders and Real Estate Investments: China and Leader Heterogeneity," JRFM, MDPI, vol. 15(8), pages 1-14, August.
    14. Yujing Huang, 2022. "The Impact of Government Official Assessment on Ecological Poverty Alleviation: Evidence from Chinese Listed Companies," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(6), pages 1-19, March.
    15. Cheng, Maoyong & Yao, Yutong & Jin, Justin Y. & Nainar, Khalid & Meng, Yu, 2024. "Leadership vacuum and urban economic development: Evidence from a transition country," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 52(1), pages 230-252.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Bank Lending; Bank Risk Exposure; Local Politicians; Promotion Incentives;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • G21 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - Banks; Other Depository Institutions; Micro Finance Institutions; Mortgages
    • G23 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - Non-bank Financial Institutions; Financial Instruments; Institutional Investors
    • H74 - Public Economics - - State and Local Government; Intergovernmental Relations - - - State and Local Borrowing

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