Regulatory Arbitrage and International Bank Flows

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Houston, Joel F.; Lin, Chen; Ma, Yue
• 署名单位: State University System of Florida; University of Florida; Chinese University of Hong Kong; Lingnan University
• 刊物名称: JOURNAL OF FINANCE
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0022-1082
• DOI: 10.1111/j.1540-6261.2012.01774.x
• 发表日期: 2012
• 页码: 1845-1895
• 关键词: growth; RISK; INFORMATION; database; drives; LAW

摘要

We study whether cross-country differences in regulations have affected international bank flows. We find strong evidence that banks have transferred funds to markets with fewer regulations. This form of regulatory arbitrage suggests there may be a destructive race to the bottom in global regulations, which restricts domestic regulators ability to limit bank risk-taking. However, we also find that the links between regulation differences and bank flows are significantly stronger if the recipient country is a developed country with strong property rights and creditor rights. This suggests that, while differences in regulations have important influences, without a strong institutional environment, lax regulations are not enough to encourage massive capital flows.