Can peer monitoring improve loan quality? : empirical evidence from Italian cooperative banks

This collection considers the financial crisis from a managerial perspective, focussing on the business implications for the financial industry. Topics examined include governance, information needs and strategy of financial intermediaries and investors. The contributions build on the existing literature and present some unique insights on governance, credit quality evaluation and performance measurement. In a fast growing or steady market, it is possible for even an inefficient financial system to satisfy investors’ and firms’ needs. However, the current financial crisis has brought into sharp relief the limits of the inefficient practices adopted by the market, and made clear the importance of developing more effective governance mechanisms, more detailed and complete information databases and new strategies. The crisis has also brought to the fore issues about the governance of financial intermediaries that had not been previously addressed. These include board diversity, internal monitoring procedures and the existence of interlocking directorates. More broadly, the financial crisis has radically altered the international framework, with an increasingly consolidated financial sector, and the rise of new markets (such as China) that now play a predominant role in the worldwide market. Studies on the competition and on the performance in this new scenario are essential in order to understand the implications of recent events