The corporate governance of banks
Subtitle: a concise discussion of concepts and evidence
By: Ross Levine.
Contributors: World Bank.
Series: Policy research working paper ;; 3404; Policy research working papers (Online) ;; 3404.
Publisher: World Bank
Published: 2004
Place of publication: [Washington, D.C
Language: eng
Format: Electronic resource
Subjects: Corporate governance.; Banks and banking.; Banks and banking -- Government policy.
Description: "Levine examines the corporate governance of banks.  When banks efficiently mobilize and allocate funds, this lowers the cost of capital to firms, boosts capital formation, and stimulates productivity growth.  So, weak governance of banks reverberates throughout the economy with negative ramifications for economic development.  After reviewing the major governance concepts for corporations in general, the author discusses two special attributes of banks that make them special in practice: greater opaqueness than other industries and greater government regulation.  These attributes weaken many traditional governance mechanisms.  Next, he reviews emerging evidence on which government policies enhance the governance of banks and draws tentative policy lessons.  In sum, existing work suggests that it is important to strengthen the ability and incentives of private investors to exert governance over banks rather than to rely excessively on government regulators.  These conclusions, however, are particularly tentative because more research is needed on how legal, regulatory, and supervisory policies influence the governance of banks.  This paper a product of the Global Corporate Governance Forum, Corporate Governance Department is part of a larger effort in the department to improve the understanding of corporate governance reform in developing countries"--World Bank web site.
Notes: Also available in print.
Includes bibliographical references.
Title from PDF file as viewed on 9/22/2004.
System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader.
Mode of access: World Wide Web.