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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
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Publications

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The Effects of Antitrust Laws on Horizontal Mergers: International Evidence

Chune Young Chung Iftekhar Hasan JiHoon Hwang Incheol Kim

in: Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, forthcoming

Abstract

This study examines how antitrust law adoptions affect horizontal merger and acquisition (M&A) outcomes. Using the staggered introduction of competition laws in 20 countries, we find antitrust regulation decreases acquirers’ five-day cumulative abnormal returns surrounding horizontal merger announcements. A decrease in deal value, target book assets, and industry peers' announcement returns are consistent with the market power hypothesis. Exploiting antitrust law adoptions addresses a downward bias to an estimated effect of antitrust enforcement (Baker (2003)). The potential bias from heterogeneous treatment effects does not nullify our results. Overall, antitrust policies seem to deter post-merger monopolistic gains, potentially improving customer welfare.

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State Ownership and Financial Statement Comparability

William Francis Xian Gu Iftekhar Hasan Joon Ho Kong

in: Journal of Business Finance and Accounting, forthcoming

Abstract

Abstract This paper investigates how state ownership affects financial reporting practices in China. Using several measures of state (government) ownership, we show that a one-standard-deviation increase in state ownership decreases financial statement comparability by 36.61%, and the impact is more pronounced when the central authority has majority control of the company. Moreover, lower earnings quality and lower levels of accounting conservatism among state-owned enterprises (SOEs) may explain the lower accounting comparability between SOEs and non-SOEs (NSOEs). Additionally, similar (different) managerial objectives converge (diverge) financial statement comparability between SOEs and NSOEs. Last, the geographical locations of firms also contribute to financial statement comparability. We employ a difference-in-differences design, changes regression and entropy balancing to mitigate potential endogeneity bias.

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Disentangling Stock Return Synchronicity From the Auditor's Perspective

Iftekhar Hasan Joseph A. Micale Qiang Wu

in: Journal of Business Finance and Accounting, forthcoming

Abstract

Abstract This paper investigates a firm's stock return asynchronicity through the auditor's perspective to distinguish whether this asynchronicity can proxy for the company's firm-specific information or the quality of its information environment. We find a significant and positive association between asynchronicity and audit fees after controlling for auditor quality and other factors that affect audit fees, suggesting that stock return asynchronicity is more likely to capture a company's firm-specific information than its information environment. We also find that asynchronous firms are more likely to receive adverse opinions on their internal controls over financial reporting, but are associated with lower costs of capital and auditor litigation, providing further evidence in support of the firm-specific information argument. Asynchronicity's positive association with audit fees is driven by firms with higher accounting reporting complexity, suggesting stock return asynchronicity captures a firm's complexity, resulting in more significant efforts by the auditor.

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Working Papers

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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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Cultural Resilience, Religion, and Economic Recovery: Evidence from the 2005 Hurricane Season

Iftekhar Hasan Stefano Manfredonia Felix Noth

in: IWH Discussion Papers, No. 9, 2021

Abstract

This paper investigates the critical role of religion in the economic recovery after high-impact natural disasters. Exploiting the 2005 hurricane season in the southeast United States, we document that establishments in counties with higher religious adherence rates saw a significantly stronger recovery in terms of productivity for 2005-2010. Our results further suggest that a particular religious denomination does not drive the effect. We observe that different aspects of religion, such as adherence, shared experiences from ancestors, and institutionalised features, all drive the effect on recovery. Our results matter since they underline the importance of cultural characteristics like religion during and after economic crises.

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Keywords

Financial Markets Policy Evaluation Monetary Policy Risk Regulation Financial Institutions
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