Using a unique data set on German banks' sector specific loan exposures to the real economy and the corresponding write-offs and write-downs, we examine the impact of loan portfolio sector concentration on credit risk. By controlling for common risk factors, we separate the bank-specific...

Section 340f of the German Commercial Code allows banks to provision against the special risks inherent to the banking business by building hidden reserves. Beyond risk provisioning, these reserves are implicitly accepted as an earnings management device. By analyzing financial statements of...

Banks face a tradeoff between diversifying and focusing their loan portfolio. In this paper we carry out an empirical study for the German market to shed light on the question whether or not the benefits of risk sharing outweigh those of specialization. We use data from the Bundesbank's...

Staatliche Unternehmen allgemein und speziell öffentliche Kreditinstitute werden oft skeptisch gesehen. Ein Grund ist diemöglicherweise bewirkteWettbewerbsverzerrung.Dieser Aspekt wurde beispielsweise in Zusammenhang mit staatlichen Garantien für die früheren Landesbanken intensiv...

The Covid-19 pandemic is hitting, directly and indirectly, economies throughout the world. While the pandemic is far from over, countries are searching for ways to enhance a quick recovery of their economies. Among others, the downturn is hampering the access of firms to the financial means...