Cultural values of parent bank board members and lending by foreign subsidiaries: The moderating role of personal traits

Abstract

In this study, we investigate how the average cultural values of parent bank board members affect lending by foreign subsidiaries and how this influence is moderated by board members’ personal traits. Using a new dataset that includes information on foreign banks and their parent companies from 66 and 29 countries, respectively, we find that loan growth of foreign subsidiaries is faster when parent boards exhibit, on average, higher uncertainty avoidance and power distance but lower individualism and indulgence. Notably, the identified regularities are significantly moderated by gender, busyness, and firm ownership of parent bank board members.