The European banking industry is undergoing significant structural changes and cost-cutting programs, also as a result of the financial crisis. Yet, the institutional features that affect banks’ ability to adjust costs and in particular personnel expenses, which comprise a significant part of...

This research examines the impacts of Credit Rating Agencies (CRAs) on bank performance in general, and in particular how their impacts can be moderated by bank regulation strictness and investor protection quality embedded in different institutional environments. Using 2398 observations from...