Too non-traditional to fail? Determinants of systemic risk for BRICs banks

Abstract

This article empirically tests the ‘too non-traditional to fail’ argument by exploring the determinants of systemic risk for the BRICs banks. The argument is found not applicable for the BRICs banks, since the systemic risk is merely determined by balance-sheet characteristics, rather than non-traditional activities such as interbank exposures and off-balance commitment. In contrast, systemic risk for banks from the developped countries is related with both aspects.