The Effect Of SFAS 115 On Earnings Management In The Banking Industry

Abstract

This paper presents an empirical investigation into the issue of earnings management in the Amer- ican banking system under SFAS 115. The study includes panel data on 88 bank holding compa- nies (BHCs) for the years 1997-2000 on a quarterly basis resulting in 1,408 observations. As hy- pothesized, it was found that the motivation of bank managers to engage in gains trading is nega- tively related to their earnings level before tax and securities net gains.