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Predictors of Bank Distress : The 1907 Crisis in Sweden

Grodecka-Messi, Anna LU ; Kenny, Seán LU and Ögren, Anders LU (2021) In Explorations in Economic History 80.
Abstract
This paper studies the Swedish experience of the international crisis of 1907, which is often compared with the crisis of 2008. By constructing a new dataset from previously unanalyzed monthly bank-level data, we document high-frequency changes in bank outcomes throughout the 1907 crisis. While distressed banks suffered substantial withdrawals of foreign funds and liquid domestic liabilities, we show that banks’ asset structures, along with observable fundamentals and institutional characteristics, played a more significant role in their subsequent fate. Higher shares of non-performing assets and lending against equities were the most important balance sheet predictors of distress. These balance sheet fundamentals, as well as over-extended... (More)
This paper studies the Swedish experience of the international crisis of 1907, which is often compared with the crisis of 2008. By constructing a new dataset from previously unanalyzed monthly bank-level data, we document high-frequency changes in bank outcomes throughout the 1907 crisis. While distressed banks suffered substantial withdrawals of foreign funds and liquid domestic liabilities, we show that banks’ asset structures, along with observable fundamentals and institutional characteristics, played a more significant role in their subsequent fate. Higher shares of non-performing assets and lending against equities were the most important balance sheet predictors of distress. These balance sheet fundamentals, as well as over-extended branch networks, significantly shortened the lifespan of Swedish banks in the aftermath of the 1907 crisis. (Less)
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author
; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Bank Distress, Financial Crises, Swedish Banks, Lender of Last Resort, Bank Run, Distress Predictors
in
Explorations in Economic History
volume
80
article number
101380
publisher
Elsevier
external identifiers
  • scopus:85094893822
ISSN
0014-4983
DOI
10.1016/j.eeh.2020.101380
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
bbc0f582-6ac7-4551-9bd3-a8c08aa5e5a0
date added to LUP
2020-09-11 10:05:10
date last changed
2022-04-19 00:39:21
@article{bbc0f582-6ac7-4551-9bd3-a8c08aa5e5a0,
  abstract     = {{This paper studies the Swedish experience of the international crisis of 1907, which is often compared with the crisis of 2008. By constructing a new dataset from previously unanalyzed monthly bank-level data, we document high-frequency changes in bank outcomes throughout the 1907 crisis. While distressed banks suffered substantial withdrawals of foreign funds and liquid domestic liabilities, we show that banks’ asset structures, along with observable fundamentals and institutional characteristics, played a more significant role in their subsequent fate. Higher shares of non-performing assets and lending against equities were the most important balance sheet predictors of distress. These balance sheet fundamentals, as well as over-extended branch networks, significantly shortened the lifespan of Swedish banks in the aftermath of the 1907 crisis.}},
  author       = {{Grodecka-Messi, Anna and Kenny, Seán and Ögren, Anders}},
  issn         = {{0014-4983}},
  keywords     = {{Bank Distress; Financial Crises; Swedish Banks; Lender of Last Resort; Bank Run; Distress Predictors}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  publisher    = {{Elsevier}},
  series       = {{Explorations in Economic History}},
  title        = {{Predictors of Bank Distress : The 1907 Crisis in Sweden}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.eeh.2020.101380}},
  doi          = {{10.1016/j.eeh.2020.101380}},
  volume       = {{80}},
  year         = {{2021}},
}