Does State‐Level Economic Policy Uncertainty Affect Financial Distress Risk of Financial Institutions?
基于美国银行样本，研究发现州级经济政策不确定性会加剧银行的困境风险，且贷款损失准备金的自由裁量使用会放大这一效应，大型、多元化和区域银行受影响最大。
ABSTRACT Using a sample of US banks, we examine the effects of state‐level economic policy uncertainties (EPUs) on banks' distress risk. Our results suggest that state‐level EPUs positively affect the distress risk. The findings are consistent with the alternative measures of distress risk. We document that the discretionary use of loan loss provisions (opacity), as not explicitly disclosed in the formal managerial communication for shareholders, exacerbates the effects of state EPUs on distress risk and does not help the bank's stability. Further, the effects of state‐EPUs increase as the size becomes larger, and diversified and regional banks are the most susceptible.