The Timeliness of Accounting Write-Downs by U.S. Financial Institutions During the Financial Crisis of 2007-2008
研究了美国金融机构在2007-2008年金融危机期间会计减值的及时性，发现会计减值慢于信用指数隐含的贬值，且公司治理、监管调查和诉讼压力能提高及时性，而高杠杆、严格监管和复杂风险敞口则降低及时性。
I examine the timeliness of write‐downs taken by U.S. financial institutions during the financial crisis of 2007–2008. The timeliness of write‐downs is measured by benchmarking the quarterly accounting write‐down schedule with the devaluation schedule implied by exposure‐specific credit indices such as the ABX. The results show that the accounting write‐downs are less timely than the devaluations implied by credit indices. In a cross‐sectional analysis of the determinants of the timeliness of write‐downs, I document that corporate governance quality, regulatory investigations, and litigation pressure are positively related to the timeliness of write‐downs, whereas the write‐downs by firms with higher financial leverage, tighter regulatory constraints, and more complex exposures are less timely. I control for numerous exposure‐specific characteristics and document that less risky exposures and exposures that were affected later during the financial crisis were written down later. Regarding the consequences of timeliness, I find that the exposure to risky assets is reflected faster in stock returns for firms with timelier write‐downs.