Understanding Bank Runs: Do Depositors Monitor Banks?
30 Pages Posted: 18 Mar 2012
Date Written: March 15, 2012
Abstract
We use unique, depositor-level data for a bank that faced a run and was placed in receivership to study whether depositors monitor banks. Depositors with uninsured balances, depositors with loan linkages and staff of the bank are far more likely to withdraw in response to the shock. We are able to contrast depositor behavior to this fundamental shock with an earlier panic at the same bank. Our results suggest that these withdrawals are due in part to the information known to depositors though overall this information appears to be very coarse. Our results provide direct evidence of depositor monitoring and the significance of fragility in a bank’s capital structure, and helps inform banking regulation.
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