Credit Risk Disclosure Practices in the Annual Financial Reporting of Large Italian Banks

Abstract

Risk disclosure in banking is particularly important for the efficacy of market discipline, the assessment of bank performance, the efficiency of the financial market, and the overall stability of the financial system. The European banking union and the financial crisis have enhanced the strategic role of credit risk disclosure in banking. The topic of this chapter is the evaluation of credit risk disclosure practices in banks’ annual financial reporting. The empirical research is conducted on a sample of ten large Italian banks. The authors employ content analysis and provide a hybrid scoring model for the assessment of credit risk disclosure. The chapter provides empirical findings which reveal significant differences between banks’ credit risk reporting practices, even though they are subject to similar regulatory and accounting frameworks.