Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: http://hdl.handle.net/10419/24709
Year of Publication: 
2008
Series/Report no.: 
ZEW Discussion Papers No. 08-015
Publisher: 
Zentrum für Europäische Wirtschaftsforschung (ZEW), Mannheim
Abstract: 
This paper documents that standard cross-sectional determinants of firm leverage also apply to the capital structure of large banks in the United States and Europe. We find a remarkable consistency in sign, significance and economic magnitude. Like non-financial firms, banks appear to have stable capital structures at levels that are specific to each individual bank. The results suggest that capital requirements may only be of second-order importance for banks? capital structures and confirm the robustness of current corporate finance findings in a holdout sample of banks.
Subjects: 
capital structure
corporate finance
leverage
bank capital
banking regulation
JEL: 
G32
G21
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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