We analyze how bank sentiment affects bank liquidity hoarding, distinguishing unexplained beliefs of bank managers from fundamental‐based beliefs. We build a bank management sentiment measure from textual analysis of 10‐Ks and utilize a comprehensive bank liquidity hoarding measure. We find that negative bank sentiment increases liquidity hoarding not warranted by a bank's fundamental conditions or external circumstances. Further analysis confirms that our findings reflect bank volition rather than being driven solely by borrowers or depositors. We address endogeneity concerns using exogenous weather conditions as instruments. Overall, our findings suggest that bank sentiment can influence how much liquidity banks provide to the economy and financial system.

Many households display inertia in investment management over their life cycles. Our calibrated dynamic life cycle portfolio choice model can account for such an apparently ‘irrational’ outcome, by incorporating the fact that investors must forgo acquiring job-specific skills when they spend time managing their money, and their efficiency in financial decision making varies with age. Resulting inertia patterns mesh well with findings from prior studies and our own empirical results from Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID) data. We also analyze how people optimally choose between actively managing their assets versus delegating the task to financial advisors. Delegation proves valuable to both the young and the old. Our calibrated model quantifies welfare gains from including investment time and money costs as well as delegation in a life cycle setting.