IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/spr/reaccs/v27y2022i1d10.1007_s11142-021-09589-6.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Accounting-based thresholds and growth decisions in the banking industry

Author

Listed:
  • Hailey Ballew

    (Rice University)

  • Michael Iselin

    (University of Minnesota)

  • Allison Nicoletti

    (University of Pennsylvania)

Abstract

This paper examines the effects of accounting-based thresholds in regulation on growth decisions in the banking industry. To investigate this relation we study changes in growth around the $10 billion asset threshold specified in the Dodd-Frank Act. We first document that, in the years after the new threshold-based regulations are announced, banks slow their asset growth as they approach the threshold and then accelerate their asset growth as they cross the threshold. Next, we document the primary mechanism banks use to achieve each of these changes in growth: reduced deposit growth rates to slow growth and increased acquisition activity to accelerate growth. Finally, we document that, while banks attempt to remain below the threshold, they reduce the growth of their investment portfolio and report a lower return on assets. Also, when banks accelerate growth through acquisition activity, those acquisitions involve larger and riskier target banks. These findings suggest that regulations with accounting-based thresholds can affect growth decisions and profitability in the banking industry.

Suggested Citation

  • Hailey Ballew & Michael Iselin & Allison Nicoletti, 2022. "Accounting-based thresholds and growth decisions in the banking industry," Review of Accounting Studies, Springer, vol. 27(1), pages 232-274, March.
  • Handle: RePEc:spr:reaccs:v:27:y:2022:i:1:d:10.1007_s11142-021-09589-6
    DOI: 10.1007/s11142-021-09589-6
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s11142-021-09589-6
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s11142-021-09589-6?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Feng Gao & Joanna Shuang Wu & Jerold Zimmerman, 2009. "Unintended Consequences of Granting Small Firms Exemptions from Securities Regulation: Evidence from the Sarbanes‐Oxley Act," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 47(2), pages 459-506, May.
    2. Hughes, Joseph P. & Mester, Loretta J., 2013. "Who said large banks don’t experience scale economies? Evidence from a risk-return-driven cost function," Journal of Financial Intermediation, Elsevier, vol. 22(4), pages 559-585.
    3. Robin A. Prager & Timothy H. Hannan, 1998. "Do Substantial Horizontal Mergers Generate Significant Price Effects? Evidence From The Banking Industry," Journal of Industrial Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 46(4), pages 433-452, December.
    4. Driscoll, John C., 2004. "Does bank lending affect output? Evidence from the U.S. states," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 51(3), pages 451-471, April.
    5. Iselin, Michael & Nicoletti, Allison, 2017. "The effects of SFAS 157 disclosures on investment decisions," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 63(2), pages 404-427.
    6. Leslie Hodder & Mark Kohlbeck & Mary Lea McAnally, 2002. "Accounting Choices and Risk Management: SFAS No. 115 and U.S. Bank Holding Companies," Contemporary Accounting Research, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 19(2), pages 225-270, June.
    7. Laeven, Luc & Levine, Ross, 2009. "Bank governance, regulation and risk taking," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 93(2), pages 259-275, August.
    8. David C. Wheelock & Paul W. Wilson, 2012. "Do Large Banks Have Lower Costs? New Estimates of Returns to Scale for U.S. Banks," Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 44(1), pages 171-199, February.
    9. Corvoisier, Sandrine & Gropp, Reint, 2002. "Bank concentration and retail interest rates," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 26(11), pages 2155-2189, November.
    10. Filson, Darren & Olfati, Saman, 2014. "The impacts of Gramm–Leach–Bliley bank diversification on value and risk," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 41(C), pages 209-221.
    11. Ben Craig & Valeriya Dinger, 2009. "Bank Mergers and the Dynamics of Deposit Interest Rates," Journal of Financial Services Research, Springer;Western Finance Association, vol. 36(2), pages 111-133, December.
    12. Isil Erel, 2011. "The Effect of Bank Mergers on Loan Prices: Evidence from the United States," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 24(4), pages 1068-1101.
    13. Jeremy C. Stein & Anil K. Kashyap, 2000. "What Do a Million Observations on Banks Say about the Transmission of Monetary Policy?," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 90(3), pages 407-428, June.
    14. Bouwman, Christa H.S. & Hu, Shuting (Sophia) & Johnson, Shane A., 2018. "Differential bank behaviors around the Dodd–Frank Act size thresholds," Journal of Financial Intermediation, Elsevier, vol. 34(C), pages 47-57.
    15. Bindal, Shradha & Bouwman, Christa H.S. & Hu, Shuting (Sophia) & Johnson, Shane A., 2020. "Bank regulatory size thresholds, merger and acquisition behavior, and small business lending," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 62(C).
    16. Berger, Allen N, 2003. "The Economic Effects of Technological Progress: Evidence from the Banking Industry," Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 35(2), pages 141-176, April.
    17. Beatty, A & Chamberlain, Sl & Magliolo, J, 1995. "Managing Financial Reports Of Commercial-Banks - The Influence Of Taxes, Regulatory Capital, And Earnings," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 33(2), pages 231-261.
    18. Allen Berger & Rima Turk-Ariss, 2015. "Do Depositors Discipline Banks and Did Government Actions During the Recent Crisis Reduce this Discipline? An International Perspective," Journal of Financial Services Research, Springer;Western Finance Association, vol. 48(2), pages 103-126, October.
    19. Knapp, Morris & Gart, Alan & Chaudhry, Mukesh, 2006. "The impact of mean reversion of bank profitability on post-merger performance in the banking industry," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 30(12), pages 3503-3517, December.
    20. Collins, Jh & Shackelford, Da & Wahlen, Jm, 1995. "Bank Differences In The Coordination Of Regulatory Capital, Earnings, And Taxes," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 33(2), pages 263-291.
    21. Robert DeYoung & Douglas Evanoff & Philip Molyneux, 2009. "Mergers and Acquisitions of Financial Institutions: A Review of the Post-2000 Literature," Journal of Financial Services Research, Springer;Western Finance Association, vol. 36(2), pages 87-110, December.
    22. Berger, Allen N. & Demsetz, Rebecca S. & Strahan, Philip E., 1999. "The consolidation of the financial services industry: Causes, consequences, and implications for the future," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 23(2-4), pages 135-194, February.
    23. Guido W. Imbens & Jeffrey M. Wooldridge, 2009. "Recent Developments in the Econometrics of Program Evaluation," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 47(1), pages 5-86, March.
    24. Kim, Myung-Sun & Kross, William, 1998. "The impact of the 1989 change in bank capital standards on loan loss provisions and loan write-offs," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 25(1), pages 69-99, February.
    25. Stiroh, Kevin J & Strahan, Philip E, 2003. "Competitive Dynamics of Deregulation: Evidence from U.S. Banking," Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 35(5), pages 801-828, October.
    26. María Soledad Martínez-Peria & Sergio Schmukler, 2002. "Do Depositors Punish Banks for Bad Behavior? Market Discipline, Deposit Insurance, and Banking Crises," Central Banking, Analysis, and Economic Policies Book Series, in: Leonardo Hernández & Klaus Schmidt-Hebbel & Norman Loayza (Series Editor) & Klaus Schmidt-Hebbel (Se (ed.),Banking, Financial Integration, and International Crises, edition 1, volume 3, chapter 5, pages 143-174, Central Bank of Chile.
    27. Cornett, Marcia Millon & McNutt, Jamie John & Tehranian, Hassan, 2006. "Performance Changes around Bank Mergers: Revenue Enhancements versus Cost Reductions," Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 38(4), pages 1013-1050, June.
    28. Bruce C. Cohen & George G. Kaufman, 1965. "Factors Determining Bank Deposit Growth By State: An Empirical Analysis," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 20(1), pages 59-70, March.
    29. Chircop, Justin & Novotny-Farkas, Zoltán, 2016. "The economic consequences of extending the use of fair value accounting in regulatory capital calculations," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 62(2), pages 183-203.
    30. Ongena, Steven & Popov, Alexander & Udell, Gregory F., 2013. "“When the cat's away the mice will play”: Does regulation at home affect bank risk-taking abroad?," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 108(3), pages 727-750.
    31. Houston, Joel F. & James, Christopher M. & Ryngaert, Michael D., 2001. "Where do merger gains come from? Bank mergers from the perspective of insiders and outsiders," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 60(2-3), pages 285-331, May.
    32. Stefan Lewellen & Adi Sunderam & Mark Egan, 2017. "The Cross Section of Bank Value," 2017 Meeting Papers 1283, Society for Economic Dynamics.
    33. Kishan, Ruby P & Opiela, Timothy P, 2000. "Bank Size, Bank Capital, and the Bank Lending Channel," Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 32(1), pages 121-141, February.
    34. Robert DeYoung & Douglas Evanoff & Philip Molyneux, 2009. "Editors’ Introduction—Special Issue on Mergers and Acquisitions of Financial Institutions," Journal of Financial Services Research, Springer;Western Finance Association, vol. 36(2), pages 85-85, December.
    35. repec:bla:jfinan:v:53:y:1998:i:6:p:2185-2204 is not listed on IDEAS
    36. Barth, James R. & Caprio, Gerard Jr. & Levine, Ross, 2004. "Bank regulation and supervision: what works best?," Journal of Financial Intermediation, Elsevier, vol. 13(2), pages 205-248, April.
    37. McCrary, Justin, 2008. "Manipulation of the running variable in the regression discontinuity design: A density test," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 142(2), pages 698-714, February.
    38. Ahmed, Anwer S. & Takeda, Carolyn & Thomas, Shawn, 1999. "Bank loan loss provisions: a reexamination of capital management, earnings management and signaling effects," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 28(1), pages 1-25, November.
    39. Jin, Justin Yiqiang & Kanagaretnam, Kiridaran & Lobo, Gerald J. & Mathieu, Robert, 2013. "Impact of FDICIA internal controls on bank risk taking," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 37(2), pages 614-624.
    40. Jeremy C. Stein, 1998. "An Adverse-Selection Model of Bank Asset and Liability Management with Implications for the Transmission of Monetary Policy," RAND Journal of Economics, The RAND Corporation, vol. 29(3), pages 466-486, Autumn.
    41. Mark Egan & Stefan Lewellen & Adi Sunderam, 2017. "The Cross Section of Bank Value," NBER Working Papers 23291, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    42. Craig, Steven G. & Hardee, Pauline, 2007. "The impact of bank consolidation on small business credit availability," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 31(4), pages 1237-1263, April.
    43. Daniel A. Bens & Steven J. Monahan, 2008. "Altering Investment Decisions to Manage Financial Reporting Outcomes: Asset‐Backed Commercial Paper Conduits and FIN 46," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 46(5), pages 1017-1055, December.
    44. Moyer, Susan E., 1990. "Capital adequacy ratio regulations and accounting choices in commercial banks," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 13(2), pages 123-154, July.
    45. Mark J. Garmaise & Tobias J. Moskowitz, 2006. "Bank Mergers and Crime: The Real and Social Effects of Credit Market Competition," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 61(2), pages 495-538, April.
    46. Emilia Bonaccorsi Di Patti & Giorgio Gobbi, 2007. "Winners or Losers? The Effects of Banking Consolidation on Corporate Borrowers," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 62(2), pages 669-695, April.
    47. Sealey, Calvin W, Jr & Lindley, James T, 1977. "Inputs, Outputs, and a Theory of Production and Cost at Depository Financial Institutions," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 32(4), pages 1251-1266, September.
    48. Jin, Justin Yiqiang & Kanagaretnam, Kiridaran & Lobo, Gerald J., 2013. "Unintended consequences of the increased asset threshold for FDICIA internal controls: Evidence from U.S. private banks," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 37(12), pages 4879-4892.
    49. repec:bla:jindec:v:46:y:1998:i:4:p:433-52 is not listed on IDEAS
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Robert DeYoung & Douglas Evanoff & Philip Molyneux, 2009. "Mergers and Acquisitions of Financial Institutions: A Review of the Post-2000 Literature," Journal of Financial Services Research, Springer;Western Finance Association, vol. 36(2), pages 87-110, December.
    2. Wilson, John O.S. & Casu, Barbara & Girardone, Claudia & Molyneux, Philip, 2010. "Emerging themes in banking: Recent literature and directions for future research," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 42(3), pages 153-169.
    3. Berger, Allen N. & El Ghoul, Sadok & Guedhami, Omrane & Roman, Raluca A., 2022. "Geographic deregulation and banks’ cost of equity capital," Journal of International Money and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 120(C).
    4. Chronopoulos, Dimitris K. & Wilson, John O.S. & Yilmaz, Muhammed H., 2023. "Regulatory oversight and bank risk," Journal of Financial Stability, Elsevier, vol. 64(C).
    5. Beatty, Anne & Liao, Scott, 2014. "Financial accounting in the banking industry: A review of the empirical literature," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 58(2), pages 339-383.
    6. repec:diw:diwwpp:dp1459 is not listed on IDEAS
    7. Kilian Huber, 2021. "Are Bigger Banks Better? Firm-Level Evidence from Germany," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 129(7), pages 2023-2066.
    8. Guglielmo Maria Caporale & Matteo Alessi & Stefano Di Colli & Juan Sergio Lopez, 2015. "Loan Loss Provision: Some Empirical Evidence for Italian Banks," Discussion Papers of DIW Berlin 1459, DIW Berlin, German Institute for Economic Research.
    9. Yoshiaki Ogura & Hirofumi Uchida, 2014. "Bank Consolidation and Soft Information Acquisition in Small Business Lending," Journal of Financial Services Research, Springer;Western Finance Association, vol. 45(2), pages 173-200, April.
    10. Jin, Justin Yiqiang & Kanagaretnam, Kiridaran & Liu, Yi, 2018. "Banks' funding structure and earnings quality," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 59(C), pages 163-178.
    11. Chen, Jie & Mishra, Tapas & Song, Wei & Zhang, Qingjing & Zhang, Zhuang, 2024. "The impact of bank mergers on corporate tax aggressiveness," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 84(C).
    12. Chiaramonte, Laura & Dreassi, Alberto & Piserà, Stefano & Khan, Ashraf, 2023. "Mergers and acquisitions in the financial industry: A bibliometric review and future research directions," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 64(C).
    13. Uchino, Taisuke & Uesugi, Iichiro, 2022. "The effects of a megabank merger on firm-Bank relationships and loan availability☆," Journal of the Japanese and International Economies, Elsevier, vol. 63(C).
    14. Raffaela Casciello & Marco Maffei & David A. Ziebart, 2024. "Regulatory and contextual factors influencing earnings and capital management decisions: evidence from the European banking sector," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 63(1), pages 87-146, July.
    15. Gulamhussen, Mohamed Azzim & Hennart, Jean-François & Pinheiro, Carlos Manuel, 2016. "What drives cross-border M&As in commercial banking?," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 72(S), pages 6-18.
    16. Avramidis, Panagiotis & Cabolis, Christos & Serfes, Konstantinos, 2018. "Bank size and market value: The role of direct monitoring and delegation costs," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 93(C), pages 127-138.
    17. Joseph P. Hughes & Loretta J. Mester, 2018. "The Performance of Financial Institutions: Modeling, Evidence, and Some Policy Implications," Departmental Working Papers 201805, Rutgers University, Department of Economics.
    18. Pedro Barros & Diana Bonfim & Moshe Kim & Nuno Martins, 2014. "Counterfactual analysis of bank mergers," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 46(1), pages 361-391, February.
    19. Berger, Allen N. & Molyneux, Phil & Wilson, John O.S., 2020. "Banks and the real economy: An assessment of the research," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 62(C).
    20. Bos, J.W.B. & van Santen, P.C. & Schilp, P., 2013. "The importance of reallocation for productivity growth: Evidence from European and US banking," Research Memorandum 056, Maastricht University, Graduate School of Business and Economics (GSBE).
    21. Hans Degryse & Sanja Jakovljević & Steven Ongena, 2015. "A Review of Empirical Research on the Design and Impact of Regulation in the Banking Sector," Annual Review of Financial Economics, Annual Reviews, vol. 7(1), pages 423-443, December.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Banks; Regulation; Accounting-based thresholds; Acquisitions; Deposits;
    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
    • G34 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Mergers; Acquisitions; Restructuring; Corporate Governance
    • M40 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Accounting - - - General

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:spr:reaccs:v:27:y:2022:i:1:d:10.1007_s11142-021-09589-6. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.