Title: The effects of market power on stability: do diversification and earnings strategy matter?

Authors: Mohammed Amidu; William Coffie; Aisha Mohammed Sissy

Addresses: Department of Accounting, University of Ghana Business School, P.O. Box LG 78, Legon, Accra, Ghana ' Department of Accounting, University of Ghana Business School, P.O. Box LG 78, Legon, Accra, Ghana ' Department of Finance, University of Ghana Business School, P.O. Box LG 78, Legon, Accra, Ghana

Abstract: This paper examines whether the effect of the level of market power on bank soundness depends on the banks' decision to diversify and adopt a particular earnings strategy. We conduct the empirical approach in two stages. First, we estimate the Boone indicator, which is the measure for bank market power. We then regress this measure and other explanatory variables on the bank risk focusing on the role of earnings and diversification strategies. The results show that competition increases earnings management as the level of market power increases when banks diversify into non-interest income generating activities. The results also suggest that the relatively low insolvency risk among banks in Africa is attributed to the high degree of market power and the diversification strategy employed over the period.

Keywords: banks; imperfect market; bank earnings; developing countries.

DOI: 10.1504/AAJFA.2019.102994

Afro-Asian Journal of Finance and Accounting, 2019 Vol.9 No.4, pp.381 - 405

Received: 23 Feb 2018
Accepted: 27 Jun 2018
Published online: 14 Oct 2019 *

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