Corporate control, bank risk taking, and the health of the banking industry

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Journal of Banking & Finance 24 (2000) 1383±1398
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  Corporate control, bank risk taking, and the
       health of the banking industry q
                                              a,1                                b,*
             Ronald C. Anderson                     , Donald R. Fraser
 a
     Department of Finance and Real Estate, Kogod College of Business Administration, American
         University, 4400 Massachusetts Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20016-8044, USA
         b
           Department of Finance, Lowry Mays College and Graduate School of Business,
                  Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843-4218, USA
                          Received 17 April 1998; accepted 13 July 1999

Abstract

   We present evidence that managerial shareholdings are an important determinant of
bank risk-taking. Managerial shareholdings are positively related to total and ®rm
speci®c risk in the late 1980s when banking was relatively less regulated and when the
industry was under considerable ®nancial stress. However, following legislation in 1989
and 1991 designed to reduce risk-taking and also re¯ecting substantial improvements in
bank franchise value, managerial shareholdings and total and ®rm speci®c risk became
negatively related in the early 1990s. In contrast, systematic risk was unrelated to
managerial ownership in both periods. Ó 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Bank risk taking; Ownership structure; Franchise value

JEL classi®cation: G21; G28; G30

   q
     The paper has bene®ted from the suggestions of J. Bizjak, J. Byrd, D. Dubofsky, D. Ellis,
S. Lee, and A. Mahajan. Naturally, all remaining errors are the responsibility of the authors.
   *
     Corresponding author. Tel.: +1-409-845-2020; fax: +1-409-845-3884.
     E-mail addresses: Ron.Anderson@mciworld.com (R.C. Anderson), d-fraser@tamu.edu (D.R.
Fraser).
   1
     Tel.: +1-202-885-1945; fax: +1-202-885-1946.

0378-4266/00/$ - see front matter Ó 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.
PII: S 0 3 7 8 - 4 2 6 6 ( 9 9 ) 0 0 0 8 8 - 6
1384   R.C. Anderson, D.R. Fraser / Journal of Banking & Finance 24 (2000) 1383±1398

1. Introduction

   The ®nance literature abounds with attempts to quantify and explain risk
taking behavior at commercial banks. Following Merton (1977) much of this
research focuses on the incentives created by the ®xed-rate deposit insurance
system for banks to increase the amount of risk in their asset and liability portfolio
(an incentive system referred to as the moral hazard problem). More recently,
Keeley (1990, p. 1183) ®nds evidence to support the hypothesis that ``increases in
competition caused bank charter values to decline, which in turn caused banks to
increase default risk through increases in asset risk and reductions in capital.''
While there are other explanations of risk-taking focusing on bank (or share-
holder) behavior, there is little explicit consideration of the role of bank man-
agement in these decisions. Yet it is management rather than shareholders who
make the portfolio decisions that determine the risk structure of a bank.
   Identifying the link between managerial risk preferences and share owner-
ship is a complex task. Conceptually, it might be expected that managers with
small ownership stakes in their banks would behave in a risk averse rather than
value maximizing way, as they seek to protect the value of their ®rm-speci®c
human capital. As their shareholdings increase, however, they have more in-
centives to engage in risk taking, especially under a ®xed rate deposit insurance
system that existed prior to 1993 and in a period such as the late 1980s when
charter or franchise values were diminished. At some substantial levels of
shareholdings, however, managers may become entrenched and no longer
make value maximizing decisions. To the extent that managerial entrenchment
becomes important, the risk/share ownership relationship may thus become
curvilinear.
   We provide evidence on the managerial shareholdings-risk relationship from
bank stock price data drawn from two distinct time periods with quite distinct
regulatory regimes and bank charter values. We conjecture that a positive re-
lationship should exist in the 1987±1989 period as the ®xed rate deposits sys-
tem, lax regulation, and low charter-values encouraged managers to take on
additional risk. In contrast, in the latter period, 1992±1994, management risk
taking was constrained by additional regulations, including risk-adjusted de-
posit insurance premiums and also by substantially increased bank charter
values.
   Our evidence is generally consistent with these arguments. We ®nd that:
1. Total and ®rm speci®c risk are positively and signi®cantly related to mana-
   gerial holdings between 1987 and 1989.
2. Total and ®rm speci®c risk are negatively and signi®cantly related to man-
   agerial holdings between 1992 and 1994.
3. Systematic risk is unrelated to ownership in both periods.
   Existing evidence on the relationship between managerial shareholdings and
risk is inconclusive, perhaps re¯ecting di€erences in risk measures, di€erent
R.C. Anderson, D.R. Fraser / Journal of Banking & Finance 24 (2000) 1383±1398   1385

time periods in the analysis, and di€erent approaches to analyzing the rela-
tionships. Saunders et al. (1990), using capital market measures of risk, provide
support for the hypothesis that banks in which managers hold a large fraction
of the stock exhibit signi®cantly higher risk-taking behavior over the 1978±
1988 period, and that the incremental risk was more prevalent following
deregulation. Demsetz et al. (1997) also ®nd a positive (and nonlinear) rela-
tionship between market risk measures and managerial shareholdings over the
1991±1995 period, though only at low franchise value banks. In contrast, Chen
et al. (1998) ®nd a negative and nonlinear relationship between managerial
ownership and bank risk over the 1988±1993 period.
   Gorton and Rosen (1995) focus on the risk/managerial shareholdings rela-
tionship as it is a€ected by both entrenchment and by shifts in the economic
conditions of the banking industry. They argue that ``bad'' managers take
excessive risk in periods when the industry is unhealthy (as re¯ected in low
franchise values). Their model predicts a nonlinear relationship between
managerial shareholdings and risk, with risk initially increasing with share-
holdings and then declining as entrenchment becomes a signi®cant motivating
factor. Their results, drawn from the 1980s period of low franchise values, are
generally consistent with their model. While their model implies that risk will
decline in the 1990s as bank franchise values increase, the time period en-
compassed by their study did not permit analysis of this issue. Our sample
period and model does, however, allow us to address this important issue.
   Section 1 describes the sample and the variables used in the analysis, while
Section 2 presents the empirical model. Section 3 discusses the results and
Section 4 concludes the paper.

2. Sample and variables description

2.1. The sample

   Our sample consists of a panel of 150 banks covering the period from 1987
through 1994. The banks were initially selected from the November 1988
Compact Disclosure CD-ROM. Information is gathered on all banks listed in
standard industry classi®cation of national commercial banks (6021), state
commercial banks (6022), and commercial banks not classi®ed elsewhere
(6029). The search of the Compact Disclosure database yielded a total of 604
individual banks.
   Return information from the Center for Research in Security Prices (CRSP)
daily tapes is used to calculate the market based measures of risk. CRSP covers
423 of the original 604 banks taken from Compact Disclosure. The remaining
181 banks for which we could not obtain CRSP data are banks that delisted,
traded on regional exchanges, or were ``pink sheet'' ®rms. Once we identify
1386    R.C. Anderson, D.R. Fraser / Journal of Banking & Finance 24 (2000) 1383±1398

those ®rms carried by the CRSP database, the remaining years of the time
series are collected from Compact Disclosure.
   Because many of the ®rms in the remaining sample are traded infrequently,
we follow Esty (1997) and discard 156 banks whose equity went untraded for
75 days or more during a year. The discarded banks have, on average, 129 days
per year where no trades took place. 2 Because we want to analyze the relation
between bank risk and managerial holdings under di€erent conditions we re-
strict the sample to the same set of banks during both periods. As a conse-
quence, we require that each bank exist over the 8 year sample period, a
constraint that requires us to drop 117 ®rms from the sample, resulting in a
®nal sample of 150 banks with 8 years of data per bank or 1200 bank-years 3
(this sample selection procedure does, of course, eliminate failed banks as well
as acquired banks). 4

2.2. Variable description

   Consistent with prior studies, we de®ne management holdings as the ag-
gregate percentage of shares held by all ocers and directors of the bank as
reported in Compact Disclosure. This ownership measure is the year-end
holdings of ocers and directors for the preceding year as reported in the
bankÕs proxy statement. Anderson and Lee (1997) demonstrate that Compact
Disclosure is a reliable surrogate for the data provided in corporate proxy
statements. However, in their analysis, they show that Compact Disclosure
only reports the largest class of shares for ®rms with multiple equity classes. As
a consequence, we verify the Compact Disclosure information with that of the
annual proxy statement for years 1987, 1989, 1992, and 1994.
   We use a single-index (market returns) market model to estimate the return-
generating process for bank stocks. 5 From the model, we estimate three dif-

  2
    The typical trading year consists of 250±255 trading days. Thus, the ®rms deleted from the
sample trade on about 50% of the available days. For several of the banks, the number of days
where trading did not occur exceeds 200 days per year.
  3
    The average number of years that the discarded banks are in the sample is 3.2 years with a
range of 1±7 years. Over 64% of these banks are newly listed after 1991 on the CRSP tapes. The
remaining banks delisted prior to 1991 due to failures, mergers or acquisitions.
  4
    We replicated the analysis reported later in the paper for samples that included a number of
banks that failed during our analysis periods (principally 1987±1989). While these results are less
powerful, the classi®cations based upon statistical signi®cance do not change.
  5
    In a prior version of this paper, we used a two-index model incorporating both market returns
and interest rates. The results are not signi®cantly or materially di€erent from the single index
model and, as a result, we use the simpler model. In our two index model, We did not correct for
autocorrelation of our interest rate series since Flannery and James (1984) and Unal and Kane
(1994) demonstrate that such a correction does not materially e€ect the calculations. Also, we do
not orthogonalize the interest rate and market returns series in view of evidence provided by
Giliberto (1985) that such adjustments can bias results.
R.C. Anderson, D.R. Fraser / Journal of Banking & Finance 24 (2000) 1383±1398         1387

ferent measures of ®rm risk: Total risk is the standard deviation of the bankÕs
daily returns; systematic risk is the component of risk that captures the in¯u-
ence of underlying economic and ®nancial conditions that a€ect the entire
banking industry. Firm speci®c risk measures the stock price volatility that is
unique to an individual bank and is related to the nature of its loan, invest-
ment, deposit, and capital structure. Firm speci®c risk is measured as the
standard deviation of the residuals of the market model for each ®rm. Sys-
tematic risk is measured as the di€erence between total and ®rm speci®c risk. 6
   More speci®cally, the risk measures are calculated as follows:
                       1X
       Total risk ˆ       xi ÿ x†2 ˆ r1=2 ;                                                     1†
                       n
where x is the daily return of bank I.
                                1X
       Firm specific risk ˆ        ei ÿ e†2 ˆ e1=2 ;                                            2†
                                n
where e's are the residuals of the single-index market model.
       Total risk ˆ ai ‡ bi market returns† ‡ ei :
Market returns are proxied by the CRSP equal-weighted returns.
       Systemic risk ˆ Total risk ÿ Firm specific risk:                                         3†
   Since the market experienced substantial volatility in October 1987, we
calculate our risk measures with and without the last 15-days of October 1987.
The regressions yield statistically similar results, therefore we include the Oc-
tober 1987 ``crash'' in all of our calculations. We also estimate the equations
with weekly returns. These results (not reported here) are not materially dif-
ferent from the daily returns results.
   Demsetz and Strahan (1997) argue that frequency of trading is a proxy for
the speed with which new information is captured in stock price and that this
variable should be correlated with the variances of a bankÕs assets, liabilities,
and o€-balance sheet portfolios. We measure frequency of trading as the av-
erage daily volume of shares traded for each bank divided by the total number
of shares outstanding for the bank.

  6
    We calculate our risk measures using banks daily returns and as a result, may introduce some
measurement error into our ®rm speci®c and systematic risk dependent variables. Kmenta (1986)
notes that any errors present in the ®rst-stage regression model (determining the dependent
variable) are also introduced into the second-stage model. He indicates however, that measurement
errors from the ®rst-stage regression are ``merged'' into the disturbance term in the second-state
regression. Consequently, the second-stage regression with the merged disturbance term satis®es all
of the basic assumptions of ordinary least squares techniques and any measurement error in our
dependent risk measures are not of signi®cant importance.
1388   R.C. Anderson, D.R. Fraser / Journal of Banking & Finance 24 (2000) 1383±1398

   Size may play an important role in determining risk levels at banking or-
ganizations because larger banks are more capable of diversifying risk, both
geographically and by industry, than small banks. Moreover, larger banks
have greater access to capital markets and thus more ¯exibility to adjust to
unexpected liquidity and capital shortfalls. We might expect larger banks to
have lower risk levels than smaller banks if their portfolios are merely larger
replications of those at small banks. However, if large banks di€er from small
banks in the composition of their asset base or portfolios (holding greater
amounts of risky-type loans, for example or greater o€-balance sheet risk),
their overall risk levels may be higher than that of small banks. Demsetz and
Strahan (1997) report that large bank holding companies o€set the potential
bene®ts of diversi®cation through adopting more risky loan portfolios and
operating with more leverage. The natural log of the book value of total assets
is used as our measure of bank size.
   We use KeeleyÕs (1990) adaptation of TobinÕs Q as a proxy for the health of
the individual banking ®rm. Q is equal to the sum of market value of common
equity (price per share times number of shares) plus the book value of liabilities
divided by the book value of assets. Keeley argues that this Q measure is a
proxy for franchise value. He ®nds that banks with higher Q values have lower
default risk as measured by lower risk premiums on their large, uninsured
certi®cates of deposit. Moreover, Demsetz et al. (1997) ®nd that risk at indi-
vidual banks is inversely related to this Q measure.
   Monitoring of managerial risk taking may come from the nature of own-
ership of the banks as well as from the regulatory structure, depositors, and
from other sources. We proxy the structure of ownership by including the
percentage of shares held by unaliated or outside blockholders. These
blockholders consist of all unaliated shareholders who own 5% or more of
the voting shares. Blockholdings data is gathered from the 1987, 1989, 1992,
and 1994 corporate proxy statements.

3. Empirical method

  We use a model similar to Saunders et al. (1990) to test our hypothesis
       Risk ˆ a0 ‡ a1 Holdings† ‡ a2 Keeleys Q†
               ‡ a3 Outside blockholdings† ‡ a4 ln Total assets††
               ‡ a5 Frequency† ‡ eI :                                                  4†

  Since there is some evidence (see McConnell and Servaes, 1991; Gorton and
Rosen, 1995 for example) that the relationship between managerial holdings
and bank risk is nonlinear, we estimate an additional piecewise version of this
model, (as in Gorton and Rosen) and report both coecients in the relevant
R.C. Anderson, D.R. Fraser / Journal of Banking & Finance 24 (2000) 1383±1398          1389

tables. 7 We split our sample into two distinct periods: 1987±1989 and 1992±
1994, inclusive. The 1987±1989 period is characterized as an unhealthy period
for the banking industry and one of regulatory laxity. The period from 1992 to
1994 is typi®ed as a healthy banking industry and as one with increased reg-
ulatory constraints.
   We use panel data techniques since the regression disturbance term is likely to
have a serially related component, a cross-sectionally related component, or
both. To account for serial correlation and heteroskedasticity, we employ time-
series cross-sectional (TSCS) regression analysis. The TSCS procedure adds the
individual and time-speci®c random e€ects to the variance±covariance matrix of
the disturbance term. As a result, the variance±covariance matrix of the dis-
turbance term is no longer a diagonal matrix with the same value at each di-
agonal element as with OLS, but a full matrix in which each element can assume
a unique value. We use the Fuller and Battese (1974) TSCS method which ef-
®ciently estimates our parameters using generalized least squares. 8; 9 Hausman
Speci®cation tests, comparing ®xed e€ect to random e€ect panel data tech-
niques, suggest that the two techniques provide signi®cantly indi€erent regres-
sion results. Therefore, we employ a random e€ects model for our analysis.

4. Empirical results

4.1. Descriptive statistics

   Table 1 contrasts the market risk measures, managerial holdings, KeeleyÕs
Q, outside blockholdings, total assets, and frequency of trading for the 1987±
1989 and 1992±1994 periods. While neither total risk nor ®rm speci®c risk
measures di€er signi®cantly between the two periods, each of the other vari-
ables does di€er between the two periods. Systematic risk declined substantially
between the two periods. Managers hold slightly fewer (9.63% vs. 11.15%)
shares in the 1992±1994 period. Moreover, the banks in the 1992±1994 period

   7
     We also estimated a model that included holdings and (holdings)2 . The (holdings)2 variable was
not signi®cant in any of the regressions.
   8
     We also run all of our regressions using ordinary least squares. In many instances, the
signi®cance of the parameter estimates increased substantially compared to those found using panel
data techniques, suggesting substantial loss of eciency with OLS estimation.
   9
     We tested causality in our panel data set by using a cross-lagged regression model employed by
Davidson et al. (1997) and Batemean and Strasser (1983). In the ®rst equation of the model, we
regress our risk measures on lagged values of itself and the corresponding insider holding measure.
For the second equation, the holding measure is regressed against lagged value of itself and the
corresponding lagged value of risk. Signi®cant coecients of the cross-lagged parameters then
indicate the direction of causality. Out tests provide an inconclusive result because neither of the
cross-lagged parameters are signi®cant.
1390    R.C. Anderson, D.R. Fraser / Journal of Banking & Finance 24 (2000) 1383±1398

Table 1
Descriptive statisticsa
 Variable                                   1987±1989       1992±1994       Test         Pooled
                                            (N ˆ 450)       (N ˆ 450)       statistics   (N ˆ 900)
 Total risk (%)               Mean           2.119          2.129           0.14          2.124
                              Median         1.935          1.815           1.26          1.880
 Systematic risk (%)          Mean           0.129          0.044          )9.53         0.087
                              Median         0.050          0.030          )5.15          0.040
 Firm speci®c risk (%)        Mean           1.988          2.080           1.35          2.036
                              Median         1.770          1.795           0.50          1.785
 Managerial holdings (%)      Mean          11.15           9.63           )2.15        10.39
                              Median         7.06           6.33           )1.80          6.71
 Total assets ($,000,000)     Mean          10,714          16,212          2.77       13,463
                              Median        2535            3564            3.76       3035
 KeeleyÕs Q                   Mean           1.008          1.030           9.27        1.019
                              Median         1.007          1.026           9.68        1.014
 Outside blockholdings        Mean           5.40           6.64            1.90          6.01
                              Median         0.00           0.00           )0.04          0.00
 Frequency of trading (%)     Mean           0.186          0.233           3.87        0.209
                              Median         0.126          0.183           5.24        0.156
a
  This table shows the sample characteristics for our 900 observations or bank-years segregated
from 1987 to 1989, from 1992 to 1994, and combined or pooled. Total risk is the standard deviation
of daily returns expressed in percent for each bank with data taken from the CRSP tapes. Sys-
tematic risk is the di€erence between total risk and ®rm speci®c risk. Firm speci®c risk is the
standard deviation of the residuals expressed in percent from the single-factor market model for
each ®rm. Managerial holdings are the aggregate holdings, in percent, of all ocers and directors of
the bank. Total assets are the year-end book value of total assets. KeeleyÕs Q is the market value of
common equity plus the book value of liabilities divided by the book value of assets. Outside
Blockholdings is the percent of shares held by all unaliated, ®ve-percent holders of the ®rmÕs
shares. Frequency of trading is the average daily volume of shares traded divided by shares out-
standing. Test statistics are t-tests for di€erence of means and Z-tests for di€erence of medians.
Signi®cant p-values are listed to the right of each test statistics.
*
  Signi®cant at the 5% level.
**
   Signi®cant at the 1% level.

are larger in total assets (signi®cant at the 1% level) and have stock that is
traded more frequently (signi®cant at the 1% level). Outside blockholdings are
also higher in the 1992±1994 period (signi®cant at the 1% level).
   Signi®cant di€erences in the mean and median values of KeeleyÕs Q observed
in the 1987±1989 and 1992±1994 periods corroborate other (anecdotal) evi-
dence suggesting that bank health improved in the early 1990s. While the
di€erences may not seem great, the inclusion of the book value of liabilities and
the book value of assets in KeeleyÕs Q measure mitigates large ¯uctuations over
time. Another perspective on changes in market valuation of banking ®rms is
given by the ratio of the market value of equity to the book value of equity.
The mean values of the sample banksÕ market-to-book ratio is 1.375 in the
1992±1994 period as compared to 1.118 in the 1987±1989 period. This di€er-
ence is statistically signi®cant at the 1% level. Similar di€erences are observed
R.C. Anderson, D.R. Fraser / Journal of Banking & Finance 24 (2000) 1383±1398          1391

for the median values of the market-to-book ratios (1.360 vs. 1.10, statistically
signi®cant at the 1% level).

4.2. Regression results

   Table 2 presents the results from the TSCS regression of each of the market
risk factors on managerial holdings and other hypothesized determinants
of risk. 10 Separate risk estimates are employed for the 1987±1989 and 1992±
1994 periods. The equations are all statistically signi®cant at the 1% level, as
judged by their F-values, with adjusted R2 s that vary between 17.99% and 50%.
The explanatory power of the equations is generally greater for the latter
period.
   We present in Table 2 both the linear and piecewise linear versions of our
model, since each provides separate insights into the in¯uence of equity
holdings on managerial risk-taking. Insider holdings are statistically signi®cant
in the linear model for each of the equations. Increased managerial share-
holdings are associated with greater total and ®rm speci®c risk in the 1987±
1989 period. However, increased managerial shareholdings are associated with
a decline in total and ®rm speci®c risk in the 1992±1994 period following
regulatory constraints imposed by the Financial Institutions Reform, Recov-
ery, and Enforcement Act (FIRREA) in 1989 and the Federal Deposit In-
surance Corporation Improvement Act (FDICIA) in 1991.
   As shown in the piecewise regressions, the increased risk associated with
larger managerial holdings in the 1987±1989 period does not become signi®-
cant until holdings exceed the 25% level, though the positive relationship for 5±
25% ownership is signi®cant at the 10% level. Apparently, managers incentives
to exploit underpriced deposit insurance in the earlier period did not overcome
their risk aversion associated with a desire to retain their employment until
their shareholdings became substantial. 11 In contrast, the negative association
between insider holdings and risk in the latter period takes place at very low
(
Table 2
Time series, cross section regression results of capital market measures on managerial holdingsa                                                                  1392
                                     Total risk
                                     Linear                                                        Piecewise linear
                                     1987±1989                            1992±1994                1987±1989                        1992±1994
 Panel A: Regression with total risk as the dependent variable. Total risk is the fractional standard deviation of daily returns over a one-year holding period
 Intercept                          0.0799                         0.1917                            0.0898                          0.2016
                                   (5.04)                         (12.87)                             (5.20)                          (13.26)
 Insider holding                    0.0202                        )0.0120                       ±                                ±
                                   (3.50)                         ()1.78)
    Hold (0±5%)                  ±                               ±                                   )0.0558                           )0.1160
                                                                                                    ()0.29)                          ()2.36)
    Hold (5±25%)                 ±                               ±                                     0.0185                          )0.0024
                                                                                                      (1.89)                         ()0.23)
                                                                                                              
    Hold (>25%)                  ±                               ±                                     0.0321                          )0.0166
                                                                                                      (2.02)                         ()0.79)
 KeeleyÕs Q                       )0.0392                         )0.1040                          )0.0389                          )0.1024
                                 ()2.70)                          ()8.21)                           ()2.67)                          ()8.07)
 Outside blockholdings            )0.0007                          )0.0008                           )0.0007                           )0.0008
                                 ()0.55)                          ()0.64)                           ()0.53)                          ()0.65)
 ln (Total assets)                )0.0015                         )0.0041                          )0.0020                          )0.0046
                                 ()3.62)                          ()9.80)                           ()3.92)                          ()9.49)
 Frequency                          0.0095                         0.0066                            0.0087                          0.0067
                                   (3.25)                          (2.35)                             (2.92)                           (2.38)
 F-statistic                       20.70                          70.74                             16.23                           52.51
        2
 Adj. R                            17.99                           43.71                              19.18                            44.54
 N                               450                             450                                450                              450

 Chow tests or F-tests:
 Holdings 1987±1989† ˆ Holdings     1992±1994† :   14.78
 Hold (0±5%)    1987±1989†   ˆ Hold (0±5%)     1992±1994† :   1.13
                                                                                                                                                                  R.C. Anderson, D.R. Fraser / Journal of Banking & Finance 24 (2000) 1383±1398

 Hold (5±25%)    1987±1989†   ˆ Hold (5±25%)       1992±1994† :   9.74
 Hold (>25%) 1987±1989† ˆ Hold (>25%) 1992±1994† : 12.93
Systematic risk
Panel B: Regression with systematic risk as the dependent variable. Systematic risk is the di€erence between total risk and ®rm speci®c risk
Intercept                       )0.0057                          )0.0009                       )0.0055                        )0.0007
                               ()2.76)                          ()1.81)                          ()2.49)                         ()1.39)
Insider holding                 )0.0006                          )0.0001                         ±                               ±
                               ()0.96)                          ()0.66)
   Hold (0±5%)                 ±                                ±                                 )0.0015                         )0.0002
                                                                                                 ()0.24)                         ()0.14)
   Hold (5±25%)                ±                                ±                                 )0.0003                         )0.0006
                                                                                                 ()0.31)                         ()1.73)
   Hold (>25%)                 ±                                ±                                 )0.0009                           0.0011
                                                                                                 ()0.54)                           (1.67)
KeeleyÕs Q                        0.0007                         )0.0008                            0.0007                        )0.0008
                               ()0.40)                          ()1.58)                            (0.37)                          (1.73)
Outside blockholdings           )0.0001                          )0.0001                          )0.0002                         )0.0001
                               ()0.31)                          ()1.46)                          ()0.32)                         ()1.62)
ln (Total assets)                 0.0004                          0.0001                          0.0004                         0.0001
                                 (9.14)                           (9.91)                           (7.09)                          (7.83)
Frequency                         0.0026                          0.0014                          0.0026                         0.0014
                                 (6.71)                         (13.98)                            (6.58)                        (13.70)
F-statistic                      22.56                           93.49                           16.30                          67.70
Adj. R2                          19.36                            50.74                            19.26                           50.98
N                              450                              450                              450                             450

Chow tests or F-tests:
Holdings 1987±1989† ˆ Holdings 1992±1994† : 0.29
Hold (0±5%) 1987±1989† ˆ Hold (0±5%) 1992±1994† : 1.36
Hold (5±25%) 1987±1989† ˆ Hold (5±25%) 1992±1994† : 0.05
Hold (>25%) 1987±1989† ˆ Hold (>25%) 1992±1994† : 0.55

                               Firm speci®c risk
Panel C: Regression with ®rm speci®c risk as the dependent variable. Firm speci®c risk is the fractional standard deviation of the residuals from the two-index
market model
                                                                                                                                                                  R.C. Anderson, D.R. Fraser / Journal of Banking & Finance 24 (2000) 1383±1398

Intercept                         0.0865                         0.1927                           0.0951                          0.2022
                                 (5.48)                         (13.41)                            (5.52)                          (13.27)
Insider Holding                   0.0208                        )0.0117                         ±                                 ±
                                                                                                                                                                  1393

                                 (3.59)                        ()1.74)
  Hold (0±5%)                  ±                               ±                                  )0.0451                           )0.1139
Table 2 (Continued)
                                                                                                                                                             1394
                                    Total risk
                                    Linear                                                    Piecewise linear
                                    1987±1989                    1992±1994                    1987±1989                     1992±1994
                                                                                              ()0.85)                        ()2.31)
      Hold (5±25%)                  ±                            ±                              0.0191                      )0.0017
                                                                                               (1.97)                        ()0.16)
      Hold (>25%)                   ±                            ±                              0.0318                      )0.0180
                                                                                               (1.99)                        ()0.85)
    KeeleyÕs Q                        )0.0410                     )0.1034                    )0.0407                       )0.1016
                                     ()2.83)                      ()8.14)                     ()2.80)                        ()7.99)
    Outside blockholdings             )0.0007                      )0.0008                     )0.0006                        )0.0007
                                     ()0.54)                      ()0.62)                     ()0.52)                        ()0.62)
    ln (Total assets)                 )0.0019                     )0.0042                    )0.0023                       )0.0047
                                     ()4.49)                     ()10.07)                     ()4.53)                        ()9.70)
    Frequency                          0.0070                      0.0054                    0.0063                       0.0055
                                      (2.40)                       (1.98)                      (2.12)                         (1.97)
    F-statistic                       25.37                       72.26                      19.54                         53.64
    Adj. R2                           21.35                        44.24                       22.43                          45.07
    N                                450                          450                         450                            450

    Chow tests or F-tests:
    Holdings 1987±1989† ˆ Holdings 1992±1994† : 15.91
    Hold (0±5%) 1987±1989† ˆ Hold (0±5%) 1992±1994† : 1.55
    Hold (5±25%) 1987±1989† ˆ Hold (5±25%) 1992±1994† : 10.29
    Hold (>25%) 1987±1989† ˆ Hold (>25%) 1992±1994† : 14.16
a
  This table presents regression estimates of bank risk on managerial holdings, bank health, and several control variables. Holdings are the aggregate
fraction of shares held by ocers and directors of the bank. KeeleyÕs Q is the market value of equity plus the book value of liabilities divided by the
book value of assets. Outside blockholdings is the percent of shares held by all unaliated, ®ve-percent holders of the ®rmÕs shares. Total assets are the
year-end book value of total assets for each ®rm. Frequency is the average daily volume of shares traded divided by total shares outstanding. t-statistics
                                                                                                                                                             R.C. Anderson, D.R. Fraser / Journal of Banking & Finance 24 (2000) 1383±1398

are given in parentheses and p-values to the right of each signi®cant estimate. Chow test is the F-statistic result from a test examining whether the risk
and holdings relation is signi®cantly di€erent between the 1987±1989 and 1992±1994 periods.
*
  Signi®cant at the 1% level.
***
    Signi®cant at the 5% level.
**
   Signi®cant at the 10% level.
R.C. Anderson, D.R. Fraser / Journal of Banking & Finance 24 (2000) 1383±1398   1395

no statistically signi®cant relationship between ownership and systematic risk
in either of the two periods.
   We perform a Chow or F-test to determine whether the change in the risk±
holdings relationship is signi®cantly di€erent between the 1987±1989 and
1992±1994 periods. Speci®cally, the unrestricted model allows the coecient
value of each independent variable to vary between the two subperiods. The
restricted model, however, allows each parameter value to vary between the
two periods with the exception of holdings; the holdings term has the same
coecient value across the two periods. The resulting null hypothesis is that
the coecient of holdings in the 1987±1989 period is equal to the coecient
of holdings in the 1992±1994 period. See Johnston (1984) for additional de-
tails on tests of structural change. The results of the tests strongly reject the
null hypothesis and indicate that the relationship between managerial hold-
ings and total and ®rm speci®c risk signi®cantly changed from 1987±1989 to
1992±1994.
   The coecient of KeeleyÕs Q is negative and statistically signi®cant, indi-
cating that high franchise value banks have less total and ®rm speci®c risk.
Indeed, Keeley's Q is statistically signi®cant at the 1% level in its association
with total and ®rm speci®c risk in each of the regression equations. Two other
variables that appear to in¯uence bank risk are size and trading frequency.
Larger banks appear to have less total and ®rm speci®c risk in both time pe-
riods, though more systematic risk. These results suggest that portfolio di-
versi®cation and managerial expertise characteristics associated with bank size
more than o€set the greater potential total and ®rm speci®c risk of individual
activities at larger banks. Banks with more frequently traded stock also appear
to have higher levels of risk, ceteris paribus. Outside blockholdings do not
appear to in¯uence managerial risk taking.

4.3. Further analysis

   Our results suggest that total and ®rm speci®c risk and managerial holdings
are positively related in the 1987±1989 period and negatively related in the
1992±1994 period. This change in the managerial holdings to risk relationship
could re¯ect relatively constant risk and changes in managerial holdings.
However, our analysis indicates that managerial holdings change little on an
individual bank basis. Managerial holdings drop by 1.95% per bank from 1987
to 1994. Moreover, only 2.5% of the sample experience a drop in holdings from
greater than 20% in 1987 to less than 10% in 1994. We have no banks in the
sample that increase holdings from less than 3% in 1987 to over 6% in 1994.
Thus, managers that are characterized as entrenched in the 1987±1989 period
are still characterized as entrenched in the 1992±1994 period and unentrenched
managers also maintain this characterization throughout the period.
1396   R.C. Anderson, D.R. Fraser / Journal of Banking & Finance 24 (2000) 1383±1398

   We ®nd that the change in the relation between managerial holdings and
total and ®rm speci®c risk apparently began in 1990. Regression analysis on a
year-by-year basis suggests that the positive relation between risk and mana-
gerial ownership holds for 1987, 1988, and 1989. In addition, the inverse re-
lation between risk and holdings occurs only in 1992, 1993, and 1994.
However, we are unable to detect any statistically signi®cant relation for 1990
or 1991, suggesting that managerial behavior started to change during this
period.
   We further investigated the change in risk taking propensity by applying the
1987±1989 coecients of our basic model to the franchise value and other
exogenous variables actually observed in the 1992±1994 period. Given the prior
discussion about changing risk taking behavior, we would expect that the
predicted risk levels in the 1992±1994 period using the 1987±1989 coecients
would be higher than the actual levels observed. This was the case for both
total and ®rm speci®c risk. Indeed, the predicted level of total risk was 46%
above the actual level while the predicted level of ®rm speci®c risk was 27%
higher. In contrast, the predicted level of systematic risk was slightly lower.
   Our results thus far suggest that the relation between managerial share-
holdings and total risk changes between the pre- and post periods. However,
board characteristics and structure di€er substantially among ®rms, suggesting
that inside director preference for risk may be substantially di€erent from that
of an independent director. As a result, we randomly sampled 50 ®rms from
our sample and gathered detailed board of director data from annual proxy
statements. We classi®ed board members following the taxonomy of Brickley
et al. (1994). Inside directors are employees, retired employees, and family
members of an executive within the ®rm. Examples of aliated directors are
attorneys, investment bankers, and consultants. Lastly, independent directors
are directors whose only relationship to the ®rm is their directorship.
   We then estimated again our regression model from Table 2 with this sample
of 50 banking organizations with the insider holdings variable now de®ned as
the shares held by inside and aliated directors. The results (available from the
authors) are not materially di€erent, with the relationship between managerial
holdings and risk remaining positive in the 1987±1989 period and again be-
coming negative in the 1992±1994 period. For total risk, for example, the in-
sider holdings coecient for 1987±1989 is 0.0202 in Table 2, signi®cant at the
1% level, and 0.0153, signi®cant at the 5% level for the rede®ned insider
holdings variable. For the 1992±1994 period, Table 2 shows an insider coe-
cient of )0.120, signi®cant at the 1% level, while the rede®ned insider coecient
for the 50-bank sample is )0.0096. For the piecewise regressions, the patterns
are again similar, though the positive and statistically signi®cant insider
holdings coecient in 1987±1989 occurs in the 5±25% ownership range
(vs. > 25% in Table 2) and the insider holdings coecients in the 1992±1994
period are not statistically signi®cant.
R.C. Anderson, D.R. Fraser / Journal of Banking & Finance 24 (2000) 1383±1398              1397

5. Conclusions and implications

   Our results suggest that managerial shareholdings do in¯uence bank total
and ®rm speci®c risk. However, the association is di€erent in the 1987±1989
period when banks were less regulated and under ®nancial stress than in the
1992±1994 period following legislation (FIRREA and FIDICIA) designed to
restrict risk-taking and after the industry returned to pro®tability. Managers
with substantial equity holdings took more risk in the 1987±1989 period. In
contrast, managers with substantial equity position took less risk in the 1992±
1994 period in response to regulatory changes designed to reduce incentives for
risk-taking and improvements in the ®nancial health of the banking industry.
Evidence from the other variables also provides potentially important insights
into bank risk-taking. Franchise value appears to be an important determinant
of bank risk-taking: banks with high franchise values are less likely to take risk
than banks with low franchise value. In contrast, outside blockholders have, at
best, limited in¯uences on bank risk taking.
   While it does appear that managerial shareholdings do in¯uence bank risk
taking and that this relationship is di€erent in the 1992±1994 period then in the
1987±1989 period, identifying the causes of the change must be done in a more
tentative way. Large increases in franchise values in the 1990s suggest reduced
incentives for banks to take risk, as do signi®cant changes in the bank regu-
latory regime designed to reduce bank risk taking. Further evidence on whether
the enhanced regulatory restrictions have been sucient to control manage-
ment incentives to take risk will be provided the next time that bank franchise
values decline substantially.

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