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Capital and risk in commercial banking: A comparison of capital and risk-based capital ratios

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  • Hogan, Thomas L.

Abstract

Recent changes in U.S. banking regulation have emphasized risk-based capital (RBC) as an indicator of bank soundness. This paper compares the RBC ratio to the standard capital ratio of equity over assets. We regress the capital and RBC ratios of bank holding companies from 1999 through 2010 against two measures of bank risk: the standard deviation of stock returns and the Z-score indicator of bank solvency. We find that the capital and RBC ratios are statistically significant predictors of both measures of risk. Comparing the capital and RBC ratios to each other, however, we find that the capital ratio is statistically significantly better than the RBC ratio as a predictor of risk, especially in the period since the recent financial crisis.

Suggested Citation

  • Hogan, Thomas L., 2015. "Capital and risk in commercial banking: A comparison of capital and risk-based capital ratios," The Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 57(C), pages 32-45.
  • Handle: RePEc:eee:quaeco:v:57:y:2015:i:c:p:32-45
    DOI: 10.1016/j.qref.2014.11.003
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    Cited by:

    1. Jiang, Hai & Yuan, Chao, 2022. "Monetary policy, capital regulation and bank risk-taking:Evidence from China," Journal of Asian Economics, Elsevier, vol. 82(C).
    2. Thomas L. Hogan & G. P. Manish, 2016. "Banking Regulation and Knowledge Problems," Advances in Austrian Economics, in: Studies in Austrian Macroeconomics, volume 20, pages 213-234, Emerald Group Publishing Limited.
    3. Thomas L. Hogan, 2021. "A Review of the Regulatory Impact Analysis of Risk-Based Capital and Related Liquidity Rules," JRFM, MDPI, vol. 14(1), pages 1-29, January.
    4. Yomna Daoud & Aida Kammoun, 2020. "Financial Stability and Bank Capital: The Case of Islamic Banks," International Journal of Economics and Financial Issues, Econjournals, vol. 10(5), pages 361-369.
    5. Stephen Matteo Miller, 2018. "The recourse rule, regulatory arbitrage, and the financial crisis," Journal of Regulatory Economics, Springer, vol. 54(2), pages 195-217, October.
    6. Jiang, Hai & Zhang, Jinyi & Sun, Chen, 2020. "How does capital buffer affect bank risk-taking? New evidence from China using quantile regression," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 60(C).
    7. Bremus, Franziska & Schmidt, Kirsten & Tonzer, Lena, 2020. "Interactions between bank levies and corporate taxes: How is bank leverage affected?," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 118.
    8. Thomas L. Hogan & Neil R. Meredith, 2016. "Risk and risk-based capital of U.S. bank holding companies," Journal of Regulatory Economics, Springer, vol. 49(1), pages 86-112, February.
    9. Sanni Mubaraq & Salami Abdulai Agbaje & Uthman Ahmad Bukola, 2020. "Determinants of Bank Performance in Nigeria: Do they Behave Differently with Risk-Adjusted Returns?," Studia Universitatis „Vasile Goldis” Arad – Economics Series, Sciendo, vol. 30(3), pages 1-34, September.
    10. Thomas L. Hogan & Neil R. Meredith & Xuhao (Harry) Pan, 2018. "Evaluating risk‐based capital regulation," Review of Financial Economics, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 36(2), pages 83-96, April.
    11. James R. Barth & Stephen Matteo Miller, 2018. "On the Rising Complexity of Bank Regulatory Capital Requirements: From Global Guidelines to their United States (US) Implementation," JRFM, MDPI, vol. 11(4), pages 1-33, November.
    12. Konstantinos Drakos & Ioannis Malandrakis, 2021. "Global Versus Non-Global Banks: A Capital Ratios-Based Analysis," Journal of Central Banking Theory and Practice, Central bank of Montenegro, vol. 10(2), pages 5-22.
    13. Nguyen, Quang Thi Thieu & Gan, Christopher & Li, Zhaohua, 2019. "Bank capital regulation: How do Asian banks respond?," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 57(C).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Banks; Capital; Risk-based capital; Regulation; Volatility; Insolvency;
    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

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