The check clearing for the 21st century act and bank stock returns

The purpose of this paper is to examine the wealth effect of the Check Clearing for the 21st Century Act, also known as Check 21, on bank stock return. We use event study analysis on thirty-four U.S. bank stocks listed on the New York Stock Exchange. Our analysis reveals that Check 21 is associated with positive abnormal return. Overall, our results suggest that investors are optimistic about the future performance of U.S. banks with the introduction of Check 21.