Competition and risk-taking in investment banking

Abstract

How does competition affect the investment banking business and the risks individual institutions are exposed to? Using a large sample of investment banks operating in seven developed economies over 1997–2014, we apply a panel VAR model to examine the relationships between competition and risk without assuming any a priori restrictions. Our main finding is that investment banks’ higher risk exposure, measured as a long-term capital-at-risk and return volatility, was facilitated by greater competitive pressures for both boutique investment banks and full-service investment banks. Overall, we find some evidence that more competition leads to more fragility before and during the recent financial crisis.