We empirically investigate whether bank bondholders value bank managerial ability, measured as risk-return efficiency, when pricing bond spreads. We find, based on a sample of 1,924 bonds issued by 67 European listed banks, for the period 2002-2011, evidence that bank managerial ability affects...

We empirically examine whether banks' dividend decisions are influenced by their degree of opacity and ownership structure. We find that banks with concentrated ownership structure pay lower dividends when they have high degrees of opacity, in line with the hypothesis that majority shareholders...

The regulatory framework in Europe does not prevent banks from taking large or controlling equity stakes in non-financial firms, potentially contributing to higher levels of bank risk and financial instability. Using a panel of European commercial banks for the period 2004-2008, we find that...