This paper studies the question of the economic scale of financial institutions. We show that banks actively smooth book equity by adjusting payouts to achieve a desired trajectory of book equity. The countercyclical nature of net payouts of financial institutions leads to procyclical book...

The paper analyzes the influence of credit market liberalization on economic growth in more than 100 economies over a period of 30 years. Liberalizing early and consistently is associated with higher living standards. However, although the timing of the reform seems to matter in raising living...

This paper studies loan activity in a context where banks must follow Basel Accord-type rules and acquire financing from households. Loan activity typically decreases when entrepreneurs' investment returns decline, and we study which type of policy could revigorate an economy in a trough. We...

This paper studies loan activity in a context where banks must follow Basel Accord-type rules and acquire financing from households. Loan activity typically decreases when entrepreneurs' investment returns decline, and we study which type of policy could revigorate an economy in a trough. We...

This is a pioneering study that undertakes a comparative analysis assessing the annual intermediation efficiency of public versus private banks in Egypt. Moreover, liquidity risk is a major threat facing banks in their efforts to sustain financial stability. Thus, this study is the first to...