Bank capital buffers around the world: Cyclical patterns and the effect of market power

Carvallo Valencia, Oscar Alfonso and Ortiz Bolaños, Alberto (2018): Bank capital buffers around the world: Cyclical patterns and the effect of market power. Forthcoming in: Journal of Financial Stability No. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jfs.2018.02.004

Abstract

We examine the effect of competition and business cycles on bank capital buffers around the world. We use a dataset of 3,461 banks from 25 developed and 54 developing countries over the 2001-2013 period. Banks tend on average to exhibit pro-cyclical behavior. But capital buffers seem to be more pro-cyclical in developing countries. Our results show that more competition leads to higher buffers in developed countries but to lower buffers in developing ones. This evidence suggests that the “competition-stability” thesis adheres in developed economies, whereas “competition-fragility” makes more sense in developing countries. This asymmetric result may have important policy implications, particularly with regard to new, globally-negotiated capital adequacy standards.

• Item Type: MPRA Paper
• Language: English
• Keywords: Bank capital buffers; Business cycle; Regulation; Market power
• Subjects: G - Financial Economics > G2 - Financial Institutions and Services > G21 - Banks ; Depository Institutions ; Micro Finance Institutions ; Mortgages; L - Industrial Organization > L1 - Market Structure, Firm Strategy, and Market Performance; L - Industrial Organization > L5 - Regulation and Industrial Policy

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