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Bank Bonus Pay as a Risk Sharing Contract

Author

Listed:
  • Matthias Efing
  • Harald Hau
  • Patrick Kampkötter
  • Jean-Charles Rochet
Abstract
We argue that risk sharing motivates the bank-wide structure of bonus pay. In the presence of financial frictions that make external financing costly, the optimal contract between shareholders and employees involves some degree of risk sharing whereby bonus pay partially absorbs earnings shocks. Using payroll data for 1:26 million employee-years in all functional divisions of Austrian, German, and Swiss banks, we uncover several empirical patterns in bonus pay that are difficult to rationalize with incentive theories of bonus pay - but support an important risk sharing motive. In particular, bonuses respond to performance shocks that are outside the control of employees because they originate in other bank divisions or even outside the bank.

Suggested Citation

  • Matthias Efing & Harald Hau & Patrick Kampkötter & Jean-Charles Rochet, 2019. "Bank Bonus Pay as a Risk Sharing Contract," CESifo Working Paper Series 7495, CESifo.
    • Handle: RePEc:ces:ceswps:_7495
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    Cited by:

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    2. Bertay, Ata & Carreño Bustos, José & Huizinga, Harry & Uras, Burak & Vellekoop, N., 2022. "Technological Change and the Finance Wage Premium," Discussion Paper 2022-002, Tilburg University, Center for Economic Research.
    3. Wagner, Konstantin, 2020. "Competition, cost structure, and labour leverage: Evidence from the U.S. airline industry," IWH Discussion Papers 21/2020, Halle Institute for Economic Research (IWH).
    4. Michael Haylock, 2022. "Distributional differences in the time horizon of executive compensation," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 62(1), pages 157-186, January.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    banker compensation; risk sharing; bonus pay; operating leverage;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • G20 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - General
    • G21 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - Banks; Other Depository Institutions; Micro Finance Institutions; Mortgages
    • D22 - Microeconomics - - Production and Organizations - - - Firm Behavior: Empirical Analysis

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