Keiretsu and risk: An examination of the risk exposure of keiretsu banks in Japan

Abstract

We compare risk positions adopted by keiretsu and non-keiretsu banks in Japan and examine how the risk positions of Japanese banks changed following the conclusion in 1997 of an escalating series of banking crises in Japan and East-Asia. The results indicate that keiretsu banks take less risk than non-keiretsu banks, and that Japanese banks in general adopted lower risk profiles after 1997. Japanese bank risk is positively associated with the ratio of non-performing loans to capital, interest rates, and private investment in residential construction, and negatively with the ratio of administrative expenses to average assets and the money supply