The effect of earnings management on bank efficiency: Evidence from ECB-supervised banks

Abstract

This study investigates the impact of earnings management on the efficiency of Eurozone banks, examining its chronological evolution until the implementation of International Financial Reporting Standard 9. Using data on 70 banks, we find that earnings management, defined as discretionary loan loss provisions, negatively affects efficiency. Meanwhile, when we also include non-discretionary provisions (those required by legal obligations), we estimate a positive impact of loan provisions on allocative efficiency—contrarily to a negative effect of discretionary provisions. This finding helps stress the importance of adequately defining earnings management, namely for the purpose of analyzing its effect on banking efficiency.