Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/39029 
Year of Publication: 
2010
Series/Report no.: 
CESifo Working Paper No. 3074
Publisher: 
Center for Economic Studies and ifo Institute (CESifo), Munich
Abstract: 
We model EU countries' bank ratings using financial variables and allowing for intercept and slope heterogeneity. Our aim is to assess whether 'old' and 'new' EU countries are rated differently and to determine whether 'new' ones are assigned lower ratings, ceteris paribus, than 'old' ones. We find that country-specific factors (in the form of heterogeneous intercepts) are a crucial determinant of ratings. Whilst 'new' EU countries typically have lower ratings than 'old' ones, after controlling for financial variables we also discover that all countries have significantly different intercepts, confirming our prior belief. This intercept heterogeneity suggests that each country's rating is assigned uniquely, after controlling for differences in financial factors, which may reflect differences in country risk and the legal and regulatory framework that banks face (such as foreclosure laws). In addition, we find that ratings may respond differently to the liquidity and operating expenses to operating income variables across countries. Typically ratings are more responsive to the former and less sensitive to the latter for 'new' EU countries compared with 'old' EU countries.
Subjects: 
EU countries
banks
ratings
ordered probit models
index of indicator variables
JEL: 
C25
C51
C52
G21
Document Type: 
Working Paper
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