Search Results
Working Paper
Who's minding the store? motivating and monitoring hired managers at small, closely held firms: the case of commercial banks
We test whether the gains from hiring an outside manager exceed the principal-agent costs of owner-manager separation at 266 small, closely held U.S. commercial banks. Our results suggest that hiring an outside manager can improve a bank's profit efficiency, but that these gains depend on aligning the hired managers with owners via managerial shareholdings. We find that over-utilizing this control mechanism results in entrenchment, while under-utilization is costly in terms of foregone profits. This study provides a relatively unfettered test of mitigating principal-agent costs, because these ...
Journal Article
Successful strategies in interstate bank acquisitions
Much of the recent consolidation in the banking industry has been across state lines, and this trend will accelerate due to recent federal legislation. As interstate banking expands further, the performance and success of banks that are acquired will be the key factor determining how much consolidation will occur and which organizations will be major participants. This article therefore examines a group of banks that were acquired on an interstate basis in 1986 and 1987, and tracks their performance after acquisition. It identifies strategies and characteristics that distinguish acquisitions ...
Working Paper
Internet banking: an exploration in technology diffusion and impact
This paper studies the diffusion and impact of a cost-saving technological innovation?Internet banking. Our theory characterizes the process through which the innovation is adopted sequentially by large and small banks, and how the adoption affects bank size distribution. Applying the theory to an empirical study of Internet banking diffusion among banks across 50 U.S. states, we examine the technological, economic and institutional factors governing the process. The empirical findings allow us to disentangle the interrelationship between Internet banking adoption and change in average bank ...
Journal Article
Small business lending by commercial banks in Colorado : 1994 to 1996
The structure of Colorado's banking industry has recently undergone significant change and, therefore, provides a good case study with which to gauge the impact of consolidation on sources of loans and access to credit for small business. We find that between 1994 and 1996, lending to small businesses in Colorado by small to medium size banking organizations grew much faster than lending by large organizations. This lending pattern was similar across in-state and out-of-state banking organizations. Thus, the difference is largely driven by size rather than by the location of the ...
Briefing
Payment services and the evolution of Internet banking
A review of bank web sites conducted by Payments System Research staff shows how essential online banking has become to the payments system.
Journal Article
The impact of debit card regulation on checking account fees
Starting in 2011, when new regulations capped the interchange fees paid to banks for debit card transactions, some news reports predicted banks might increase checking account fees. The cap reduced many banks' revenue and the concern was that they might offset their losses by charging more for checking accounts. Sullivan examines data from broad samples of banks and finds that many large banks raised fees?but among the thousands of smaller banks that had been exempted from the regulations, some raised fees while others lowered them. On net, consumer access to free checking actually increased. ...
Journal Article
Understanding risk management in emerging retail payments
New technologies used in payment methods can reduce risk, but they can also lead to new risks. Emerging retail payments are prone to operational and fraud risks, especially security breaches and potential use in illicit transactions. This article describes an economic framework for understanding risk control in retail payments. Risk control is a special type of good because it can protect one payment participant without diminishing the protection of other participants. As a result, the authors' economic framework emphasizes risk containment, primarily through the establishment and enforcement ...
Working Paper
Internet banking: an exploration in technology diffusion and impact
This paper studies endogenous diffusion and impact of a cost-saving technological innovation -- Internet Banking. When the innovation is initially introduced, large banks have an advantage to adopt it first and enjoy further growth of size. Over time, as the innovation diffuses into smaller banks, the aggregate bank size distribution increases stochastically towards a new steady state. Applying the theory to a panel study of Internet Banking diffusion across 50 US states, we examine the technological, economic and institutional factors governing the process. The empirical findings allow us to ...
Journal Article
Risk management and nonbank participation in the U.S. retail payments system
The retail payments system in the United States has changed significantly in recent years. Advances in technology have caused a greater reliance on electronic payment networks. And the industrial structure of the payment services industry has evolved, as more and more nonbanks deliver payment products to end users and supply back-end processing. In general, these changes have made the payments system more efficient and given more choices to consumers and more payment options to merchants and businesses. ; At the same time, however, the rapid pace of change has introduced new risks to the ...
Briefing
The Benefits of Collecting and Reporting Payment Fraud Statistics for the United States
This article argues that publication of fraud statistics helps the payment industry to coordinate security efforts, provides useful information for policymakers, and helps to promote consumer confidence in payments. However, while other countries regularly publish such statistics, it is an open question whether they will become available in the United States.