Why are Banks Special? An Approach from the Corporate Governance Perspective

Abstract

High standards in the governance of banks and firms are very important for economic growth. Banks have a critical position in the development of economies due to their major role in running the financial system. The banking industry is unique because it is simultaneously consolidating and diversifying. There is a significant public dimension to the banking firm; bank managers function in the light of two distinct sets of interests: one is the private interest, internal to the firm, and the other is the public interest, external to the firm. Previous literature analyses the implications of banks' specific attributes on their corporate governance framework. It emphasises two major aspects: greater opaqueness and greater regulation. Whether these attributes have a weakening effect on the traditional corporate governance mechanism is a matter debated by most research papers on the subject. This study is done on the specific characteristics of banks from the point of view of current economic framework, and the implications of these characteristics on the governance of banks. This paper analyses the environment with increased regulation of the banking firm, as a governance control mechanism.

Keywords: Banks, Corporate governance, Regulation and supervision, Stakeholders, Basel Accord

JEL Classification: E44, E58, G21, G34