Assessing the condition of Japanese banks: How informative are accounting earnings?
This article examines the accounting and stock market performance of Japanese banks from 1991 to 1997. Overall, the results indicate that the accounting, disclosure, and regulatory practices of Japanese banks have driven a wedge between their accounting and stock market returns in recent years and, furthermore, that regulatory forbearance might have become a more important source of value to shareholders than the value of assets in place.
