Are banks excessively monitored?

Urs Birchler ()

No 00.14, Working Papers from Swiss National Bank, Study Center Gerzensee

Abstract: Insuffucient monitoring by depositors, and thus a lack of market discipline, are often seen as a typical feature of banks. We show that the opposite may be the case. Banks, defined as firms that borrow from a large number of partially uninformed investors, have a tendency to be excessively monitored by informed investors. This is shown in a model of intermediation in which heterogenous investors choose whether they want to monitor the intermediary or not. We also find that banks finance is preferable to non-bank finance when assets are relatively safe or opaque. The model which is set in a banking context may be applicable to a wider range of information problems.

Pages: 28 pages
Date: 2000-11
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