Determinants of the credit risk disclosure level by Brazilian banks

Abstract

Studies assessing organizations level of disclosure have gained relevance in Accounting literature, as disclosure progressively assumes a more important role in the reduction of information asymmetry amongst various economic agents. As for the peculiarities of the Financial System, transparency is essential to achieve reliability and stability. The central aim of this study is to assess the degree of credit risk disclosure implemented by Brazilian financial institutions, benchmarked against the qualitative and quantitative disclosures required by the Basel II Accord. Based on the analysis of quarterly financial data of the fifty biggest banks, the results of the research show, initially, that the level of disclosure presented a slow and steady growth in the period, despite complying with less than forty percent of the information items required. The Studys Panel Data Regression Analysis revealed that the degree of credit risk disclosure of a period is initially explained by the disclosure of the previous period. It also indicated that the level of disclosure is explained by the Basel II Accords effectiveness, the size of the organization, the level of returns, the fixed-asset to equity-capital ratio and also by the shares listed on Bovespa.