The dual roles of Japanese main banks: Contrast before and after the bubble-bursting

Abstract

This chapter contrasts the effects of main bank-firm ties on the performance of firms in the changing economic environment of the Japanese financial system. The dual stake of the main bank as stockholder and creditor has a positive effect on stock returns in the growth period, but a negative effect in the contraction period. The empirical results suggest that the current problems in the Japanese economy can be traced back to the failure of corporate governance that cast dark clouds on the Japanese economy after the bursting of the economy in 1990. © 2008 Emerald Group Publishing Limited.