In this study, we examine non-government-assisted US commercial bank merger activity prior to, and during the recent financial crisis. Mergers that occur throughout the crisis appear to be more significant events for both targets and acquirers. Acquirers seek out relatively larger targets during...

We look at internal corporate governance mechanisms and the performance of publicly-traded U.S. banks before and during the financial crisis. Obviously, bank performance decreases dramatically during the crisis. This decrease occurs for all bank size groups. However, the largest banks see the...

Liquidity dried up during the financial crisis of 2007-2009. Banks that relied more heavily on core deposit and equity capital financing – stable sources of financing – continued to lend relative to other banks. Banks that held more illiquid assets on their balance sheets, in contrast,...

This paper examines earnings management at the largest publicly traded bank holding companies in the United States. We find that the use of discretionary loan loss provisions is positively related to a bank's unmanaged cash flow returns, capital ratios, and asset size. In contrast, the use of...

This paper documents the purposes of issuer tender offers to repurchase stock, as stated in SEC disclosures, over the period 1994 through 2006. We explore whether stated purposes affect announcement period returns and find evidence that returns are significantly lower if repurchases replace...

In this study, we examine non-government-assisted US commercial bank merger activity prior to and during the recent financial crisis. Mergers that occur throughout the crisis appear to be more significant events for both targets and acquirers. Acquirers seek out relatively larger targets during...

Firms can reprice employee stock options to realign performance and retention incentives when stock price declines cause options to have insignificant expected values. Six-and-one option exchanges allow firms to avoid recognizing compensation expenses when repricing options, but appear unable to...