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Loan loss provisions, accounting constraints, and bank ownership structure

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  • Balla, Eliana
  • Rose, Morgan J.

Abstract

We examine bank-level changes in the relationship between earnings and loan loss provisioning, a measure of earnings management, following the tightening of accounting constraints associated with the SEC's 1998 SunTrust Bank decision. By exploiting both temporal variation in the regulatory environment and cross-sectional variation in bank ownership structure, we find evidence that shortly after the SEC action, the relationship between earnings and provisions weakened for publicly-held banks but not for privately-held banks, consistent with reduced earnings management among publicly-held banks only. This difference does not persist over time, with evidence indicating a weakening of the relationship for both ownership types.

Suggested Citation

  • Balla, Eliana & Rose, Morgan J., 2015. "Loan loss provisions, accounting constraints, and bank ownership structure," Journal of Economics and Business, Elsevier, vol. 78(C), pages 92-117.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jebusi:v:78:y:2015:i:c:p:92-117
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jeconbus.2014.12.003
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    Cited by:

    1. Egor Nikulin & Jeff Downing, 2021. "Loan-loss provisions, earnings management, and capital management by Russian banks: the impact of changes in banking regulation and oversight," Eurasian Business Review, Springer;Eurasia Business and Economics Society, vol. 11(4), pages 659-677, December.
    2. Andries, Kathleen & Gallemore, John & Jacob, Martin, 2017. "The effect of corporate taxation on bank transparency: Evidence from loan loss provisions," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 63(2), pages 307-328.
    3. Skała, Dorota, 2021. "Loan loss provisions and income smoothing – Do shareholders matter?," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 78(C).
    4. Ozili, Peterson K, 2021. "Banking sector earnings management using loan loss provisions in the Fintech era," MPRA Paper 105083, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    5. Noor Hashim & Weijia Li & John O'Hanlon, 2019. "Reflections on the development of the FASB’s and IASB’s expected-loss methods of accounting for credit losses," Accounting and Business Research, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 49(6), pages 682-725, September.
    6. Danisman, Gamze Ozturk & Demir, Ender & Ozili, Peterson, 2021. "Loan loss provisioning of US banks: Economic policy uncertainty and discretionary behavior," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 71(C), pages 923-935.
    7. Sehwa Kim, 2022. "Delays in Banks’ Loan Loss Provisioning and Economic Downturns: Evidence from the U.S. Housing Market," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 60(3), pages 711-754, June.
    8. Aristei, David & Gallo, Manuela, 2019. "Loan loss provisioning by Italian banks: Managerial discretion, relationship banking, functional distance and bank risk," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 60(C), pages 238-256.
    9. Ozili, Peterson K, 2019. "Bank loan loss provisioning during election years in Nigeria," MPRA Paper 96704, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    10. Qaiser Rafique Yasser & Abdullah Al Mamun, 2017. "The Impact of Ownership Concentration on Firm Performance: Evidence from an Emerging Market," Emerging Economy Studies, International Management Institute, vol. 3(1), pages 34-53, May.
    11. Katherine Campbell & Cullen F. Goenner & Matthew Notbohm & Adam Smedema, 2022. "Political ideology and CEO performance under crisis," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 58(1), pages 329-359, January.
    12. Elyas Elyasiani & Yuan Wen & Rongrong Zhang, 2017. "Institutional Ownership And Earning Management By Bank Holding Companies," Journal of Financial Research, Southern Finance Association;Southwestern Finance Association, vol. 40(2), pages 147-178, June.
    13. Ozili, Peterson K & Outa, Erick R, 2018. "Bank Earnings Smoothing During Mandatory IFRS adoption in Nigeria," MPRA Paper 89690, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    14. Mohamed Gomaa & Kiridaran Kanagaretnam & Stuart Mestelman & Mohamed Shehata, 2019. "Experimental Evidence on the Impact of Replacing the Incurred Credit Loss Model of Bank Loan Loss Provisions with the International or US Accounting Standards Boards’ Expected Credit Loss Models," Department of Economics Working Papers 2019-10, McMaster University.
    15. Ozili, Peterson K, 2017. "Bank Loan Loss Provisions Research: A Review," MPRA Paper 76495, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    16. Ozili, Peterson K, 2020. "Bank loan loss provisioning during election years: cross-country evidence," MPRA Paper 96639, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    17. Yang, Ling, 2016. "Is Bank Supervision Effective? Evidence from the Allowance for Loan and Lease Losses," MPRA Paper 75761, University Library of Munich, Germany.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Loan loss provisioning; Earnings management; Ownership structure; Privately-held banks; Financial institutions; Banking regulation;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • G21 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - Banks; Other Depository Institutions; Micro Finance Institutions; Mortgages
    • G28 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - Government Policy and Regulation
    • G32 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Financing Policy; Financial Risk and Risk Management; Capital and Ownership Structure; Value of Firms; Goodwill
    • E65 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Macroeconomic Policy, Macroeconomic Aspects of Public Finance, and General Outlook - - - Studies of Particular Policy Episodes

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