Why did the conventional leverage indicators not pick up any meaningful signal of the mounting systemic risk before the subprime crisis? They remained almost unchanged in recent decades, whereas the banking landscape underwent a tremendous metamorphosis. Market-oriented banking is characterized...

This paper investigates how banks, as a group, react to macroeconomic risk and uncertainty; more specifically, it examines the relationship between bank systemic risk and changes and disruptions in economic conditions. Adopting the methodology of Beaudry et al. (2001), we introduce a new...

In order to complement the macro-prudential framework introduced in Basel III, we propose a new breed of indicators based on the degree of leverage which helps track the time-varying dimension of bank systemic risk—a key aspect of financial stability. Given the new sources of liquidity...

This paper revisits the impact of off-balance-sheet (OBS) activities on banks risk-return trade-off. Recent studies (e.g.,Stiroh and Rumble, 2006) show that increasing OBS activities does not necessarily yield straightforward diversification benefits for banks. However, introducing a risk...

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to analyse the link between product-mix and bank performance with a comprehensive look at the contribution of each component of banking activities. Design/methodology/approach – The generalized method of moments estimation approach the authors apply to...

Data suggest that the Canadian financial structure, and particularly indirect finance (e.g., banking), have become more market-oriented. We associate this financial trend in part with the regulatory changes that have occurred in Canada since the 1980s. Financial intermediaries are increasingly...