Is Dynamic Loan Loss Provisioning Necessary in Korea?

This study investigates whether dynamic loan loss provisioning is necessary in Korean banking environments. Under the dynamic provisioning rule banks are required to accumulate additional reserves to general and specific provisionings in preparation for expected loan losses until maturity. This provisioning is most effective in the case that banks tend to recognize less loan losses in the business upturns and/or in the periods of increasing profits. The empirical study, however, shows that banks support procyclicality of loan loss privisioning and earning smoothing behavior over profit fluctuations. These findings suggest that Korea would not seriously need the introduction of dynamic loan loss provisioning. But this policy implication does not seem robust in view that the recent experience shows the countercyclicality of loan loss provisioning practices and negative correlation between earnings and provisioning after financial restructuring was completed. This result is partly attributable to vigorous shareholder activism because of high foreign ownership of most commercial banks. Once it is true that bank management is more interested in short-term performances, current loan loss provisioning would have attributes of impairing capital adequacy, hence strengthening loan loss provisiong requirements