Accounting Discretion of Banks During a Financial Crisis
42 Pages Posted: 13 Oct 2009
There are 3 versions of this paper
Bank Valuation and Regulatory Forbearance During a Financial Crisis
Accounting Discretion of Banks During a Financial Crisis
Accounting Discretion of Banks During a Financial Crisis
Date Written: September 2009
Abstract
This paper shows that banks use accounting discretion to overstate the value of distressed assets. Banks' balance sheets overvalue real estate-related assets compared to the market value of these assets, especially during the U.S. mortgage crisis. Share prices of banks with large exposure to mortgage-backed securities also react favorably to recent changes in accounting rules that relax fair-value accounting, and these banks provision less for bad loans. Furthermore, distressed banks use discretion in the classification of mortgage-backed securities to inflate their books. Our results indicate that banks' balance sheets offer a distorted view of the financial health of the banks.
Keywords: Accounting, Asset management, Asset prices, Bank accounting, Bank regulations, Banks, Financial crisis, Housing prices, Investment, Liquidity management, Real estate prices
JEL Classification: G21, M40
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation
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