This paper provides new evidence on the benefits of relationship banking. Using a unique bank branch-level dataset covering 96 French counties (departments) from 2005 to 2013, we show that higher market share of regional banks and a stronger presence of geographically-focused banks significantly...

In this paper, we examine the role of information sharing and borrower legal rights in affecting the procyclical effect of bank loan loss provisions. Based on a sample of Asian banks, our empirical results highlight that higher non-discretionary provisions reduce loan growth and hence,...

In this paper, we explore whether economic uncertainty differently affects the default risk of Islamic and conventional banks. Using a sample of 568 banks from 20 countries between 2009 and 2018, we use the World Uncertainty Index (WUI) by Ahir et al. (2018) to conduct a study based on a...

Using a sample of banks operating in 24 countries, we provide robust evidence that stronger creditor rights are associated with higher capital adequacy ratios of conventional banks but not of Islamic banks. Such results are more effective on bank core capital, suggesting that bank managers tend...

We investigate the influence of the institutional environment on bank capital ratios. Using a sample of 149 banks operating in the Middle East and North Africa region for the period 2004 to 2014, we find that, when stock markets have little presence, institutional variables significantly affect...