Banks are recognized as playing an important role of monitoring borrowers, thereby reducing the agency costs associated with informational asymmetry. However, there remains an issue "who could monitor the banks", because it is difficult for outsiders to monitor banks' management. In particular,...

This paper investigates how the human relationship prevailing between the regulatory authorities and private banks referred to as "amakudari" has influenced the effectiveness of prudential regulation in Japan. We propose a simple model of repeated game to explain the amakudari phenomenon. Our...

This study investigates the determinants and outcomes of raising capital ratios upon the introduction of Basel II and III regulations. The evidence indicates that a bank is more likely to raise its capital base as its capital ratio is lowered. Although equity issuing is rarely used to raise the...

This paper investigates the determinants of new equity offerings and estimates its costs in sample selection model. The main finding is that a weak capital base is one of the key driving forces of the new issuance around the recently strengthened Basel regulations, although banks were not...

This paper investigates the determinants of new equity offerings and estimates its costs in sample selection model. The main finding is that a weak capital base is one of the key driving forces of the new issuance around the recently strengthened Basel regulations, although banks were not...

While the Japanese banking sector seems to have disciplined borrower firms for inefficient management in the high growth era, its fragility was revealed by the serious non-performing loans since the early 1990s. According to 'the financial restraint hypothesis' advocated by Hellman, Murdock and...

Why has Japan suffered from the NPL problem for such a long time? We will answer to this question from a governance perspective that emphasizes important influence of the governance structure on bank management. In our opinion, Japan failed to motivate banks to play the role of monitoring...

While the Japanese banking sector seems to have disciplined borrower firms for inefficient management in the high growth era, its fragility was revealed by the serious non-performing loans since the early 1990s. According to 'the financial restraint hypothesis' advocated by Hellmann, Murdock and...

This paper statistically reexamines the conventional view that the main bank relationship has been an important element of corporate governance in Japan. According to the view, in postwar Japan, the main bank relationship has contributed to efficient management of borrower firms in place of the...

Since the beginning of the 1990s, Japan has been suffering from the serious problem of non-performing loans in the banking sector. The government have struggled with this problem for longer than half a decade without remarkable success. This paper tries to gi e an answer to the question why...