Using detailed ownership data for a sample of European commercial banks, we analyze the link between ownership structure and risk in both privately owned and publicly held banks. We consider five categories of shareholders that are specific to our dataset. We find that ownership structure is...

We investigate whether excess control rights of ultimate owners in pyramids affect banks' adjustment to their target capital ratio. When ultimate control rights and cash-flow rights are identical, banks increase their capital ratio by issuing equity and by reshuffling their assets without...

We investigate whether excess control rights of ultimate owners in pyramids affect banks' capital ratio adjustments. When control and cash-flow rights are identical, to boost capital ratios banks issue equity without cutting lending. However, when control rights exceed cash-flow rights, instead...

Our study of 602 European banks over 1996-2002 investigates how the banks' expansion into fee-based services has affected their interest margins and loan pricing. We find that higher income share from commissions and fees is associated with lower margins and loan spreads. The higher the...