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Journal of Banking & Finance Vol. 41 2014

Banking deregulation, consolidation, and corporate cash holdings: U.S. evidence

Bill Francis1; Iftekhar Hasan2,3; Haizhi Wang4

1 Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute · 2 Bank of Finland · 3 Fordham University · 4 Illinois Institute of Technology

Abstract

This paper tests the effects of banking deregulation on the cash policies of nonbanking firms in the United States. We document a significant and negative relation between intrastate banking deregulation and corporate cash holdings. We show that the negative relation is driven by financially constrained firms, especially by constrained firms with low hedging needs. Further, we construct indexes measuring the intensity of bank consolidation in local markets. We find that the intensity of in-market bank mergers is negatively related to corporate cash holdings. However, in-market bank mergers in highly concentrated markets tend to be positively related to corporate cash holdings.

DOI
10.1016/j.jbankfin.2013.12.018
Volume
41
Pages
45-56
Language
en
Sources
openalex crossref bibtex:phds-export.bib

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