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Professor Iftekhar Hasan, PhD

Professor Iftekhar Hasan, PhD
Current Position

since 12/16

Research Fellow Department of Financial Markets

Halle Institute for Economic Research (IWH) – Member of the Leibniz Association

since 1/11

University Professor and E. Gerald Corrigan Chair in Finance

Gabelli School of Business, Fordham University

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Research Interests
  • corporate finance
  • banking
  • finance and accounting

Iftekhar Hasan joined the Department of Financial Markets as a Research Fellow in December 2016. His research focuses on financial institutions and capital markets, applied corporate finance, entrepreneurial finance and venture capital, financial accounting, emerging markets, and international banking.

Iftekhar Hasan is University Professor, E. Gerald Corrigan Chair in Finance, and the academic director of the PhD programme at the Gabelli School of Business at Fordham University. He serves as a scientific advisor of the Bank of Finland and as managing editor for the Journal of Financial Stability.

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Professor Iftekhar Hasan, PhD
Professor Iftekhar Hasan, PhD
- Department Financial Markets
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Publications

Citations
39848

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Political Network and Muted Insider Trading

Wei Chen Xian Gu Iftekhar Hasan Hao Zhao Yun Zhu

in: Journal of Corporate Finance, forthcoming

Abstract

This paper examines how political networks influence insider trading in China. Using biographical data to construct chairman–politician social networks, we find that firms with stronger political networks engage in significantly less insider trading. The effect is stronger for non-state-owned enterprises (non-SOEs) and for long-standing or high-ranking connections. The muted trading persists during periods when insiders possess valuable private information, including prior to M&A announcements and major policy events. The evidence suggests that personal political networks function as informal governance mechanisms that discipline managerial opportunism when formal governance through state ownership is absent.

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Do Tax Rates Affect Corporate Social Responsibility? A Natural Experiment From Corporate Tax Rate Changes

Yiwei Fang Iftekhar Hasan Qiang Wu

in: Journal of Accounting, Auditing and Finance, forthcoming

Abstract

Get access Abstract This study examines how changes in state corporate tax rates affect corporate social responsibility (CSR) performance among U.S. firms. Using staggered state-level tax reforms and a difference-in-differences (DiD) design, we identify an asymmetric causal effect: tax cuts significantly enhance CSR performance by reducing concerns, whereas tax increases only marginally weaken CSR strengths. Drawing primarily on signaling theory, complemented by slack resource and stakeholder perspectives, we argue that tax cuts expand financial slack, enabling firms to use CSR as a positive signal of financial strength, long-term orientation, and responsible use of tax savings. In contrast, firms avoid cutting CSR significantly after tax hikes to prevent negative signaling. In support of the theories, our heterogeneity analyses show that these effects are stronger among financially constrained firms and are concentrated in material CSR issues that are financially relevant to investors. A domain-level analysis further reveals that tax increases reduce environmental strengths, while tax cuts lower concerns related to employee relations, diversity, and environmental practices. These findings highlight how tax policy shapes CSR through its impact on financial flexibility and stakeholder expectation, offering implications for corporate strategy and public policy.

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Does It Pay to Get Connected? An Examination of Bank Alliance Network and Bond Spread

Iftekhar Hasan Céline Meslier Amine Tarazi Mingming Zhou

in: Journal of Economics and Business, forthcoming

Abstract

This paper examines the effects of bank alliance network on bonds issued by European banks during the period 1990–2009. We construct six measures capturing different dimensions of banks’ network characteristics. In opposition to the results obtained for non-financial firms, our findings indicate that being part of a network does not create value for bank’s bondholders, indicating a dark side effect of strategic alliances in the banking sector. While being part of a network is perceived as a risk-increasing event by market participants, this negative perception is significantly lower for the larger banks, and, to a lesser extent, for the more profitable banks. Moreover, during crisis times, the positive impact on bond spread of a bank’s higher centrality or of a bank’s higher connectedness in the network is stronger, indicating that market participants may fear spillover effects within the network during periods of banks’ heightened financial fragility.

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Working Papers

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Global Political Ties and the Global Financial Cycle

Gene Ambrocio Iftekhar Hasan Xiang Li

in: IWH Discussion Papers, No. 23, 2023

Abstract

We study the implications of forging stronger political ties with the US on the sensitivities of stock returns around the world to a global common factor – the global financial cycle. Using voting patterns at the United Nations as a measure of political ties with the US along with various measures of the global financial cycle, we document evidence indicating that stronger political ties with the US amplify the sensitivities of stock returns in developing countries to the global financial cycle. We explore several channels and find that a deepening of financial linkages along with a reduction in information asymmetries and an amplification of sentiment are potentially important factors behind this result.

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Banking Market Deregulation and Mortality Inequality

Iftekhar Hasan Thomas Krause Stefano Manfredonia Felix Noth

in: Bank of Finland Research Discussion Papers, No. 14, 2022

Abstract

This paper shows that local banking market conditions affect mortality rates in the United States. Exploiting the staggered relaxation of branching restrictions in the 1990s across states, we find that banking deregulation decreases local mortality rates. This effect is driven by a decrease in the mortality rate of black residents, implying a decrease in the black-white mortality gap. We further analyze the role of mortgage markets as a transmitter between banking deregulation and mortality and show that households' easier access to finance explains mortality dynamics. We do not find any evidence that our results can be explained by improved labor outcomes.

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Technological Innovation and the Bank Lending Channel of Monetary Policy Transmission

Iftekhar Hasan Xiang Li Tuomas Takalo

in: IWH Discussion Papers, No. 14, 2021

Abstract

This paper studies whether and how banks’ technological innovations affect the bank lending channel of monetary policy transmission. We first provide a theoretical model in which banks’ technological innovation relaxes firms’ earning-based borrowing constraints and thereby enlarges the response of banks’ lending to monetary policy changes. To test the empirical implications, we construct a patent-based measurement of bank-level technological innovation, which can specify the nature of technology and tell whether it is related to the bank’s lending business. We find that lending-related innovations significantly strengthen the transmission of the bank lending channel.

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Browse all working papers
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