Financial markets development, business cycles, and bank risk in South America

• Do banking crises or business cycles affect the influence of financial markets development on bank risk?
• A sample of 37 publicly listed commercial banks in seven South American countries over a 22-year period between 1991 and 2012 is examined.
• Financial markets development improves banks’ capitalization ratio and reduces their exposure to non-traditional banking activities.
• Banking crises and business cycles moderate the impact of financial markets development on bank risk.

In this paper, we examine whether banking crises or business cycles affect the influence of financial markets development on bank risk in a sample of 37 publicly listed commercial banks in seven South American countries over a 22-year period between 1991 and 2012. Banking crises in this region offer a natural setting in which the impact of financial markets development on bank risk is examined. We find that financial markets development improves banks’ capitalization ratio and reduces their exposure to non-traditional banking activities, suggesting that financial markets development on average reduces bank risk. In addition, banking crises and business cycles appear to moderate the impact of financial markets development on bank risk. In the aftermath of banking crises, banks appear to concentrate more on their core traditional banking activities.