IFRS 9, Calendar Provisioning and Bank Behaviour in Europe: The Role of Judicial Efficiency

Purpose: This paper examines how the IFRS 9 adoption and the calendar provisioning intensity have shaped banks’ lending behaviour, risk exposure, and interest income across European listed banks. Furthermore, the analysis investigates whether judicial efficiency, proxied by the clearance rate, moderates these relationships. Design/methodology/approach: Using a sample of 1,304 bank-years, a panel data analysis was conducted, spanning the period from 2014 to 2023. Findings: The results show that the adoption of IFRS 9 is associated with lower loan growth, reduced risk-weighted asset (RWA) intensity, and lower loan interest income. By contrast, calendar provisioning intensity does not affect loan growth, but it significantly decreases RWA intensity and loan interest income. Besides, judicial efficiency reinforces all baseline relationships when IFRS 9 acts as the main explanatory variable, while only risk exposure and income outcomes are affected when calendar provisioning serves as the independent variable. Originality/value: This study provides novel insights on IFRS 9 and calendar provisioning, unveiling that the two regulatory tools operate through distinct ex ante and ex post channels to shape banks’ lending behaviour, risk allocation, and income generation. Moreover, these effects are conditioned by institutional quality, captured by judicial efficiency. Practical implications: For banks, the findings underscore the relevance of aligning credit-risk strategies not only with accounting standards but also with institutional conditions, particularly in terms of risk allocation and income generation. For policymakers, the results hint that enhancing judicial efficiency can reinforce the regulatory role of accounting and prudential measures, thus strengthening their impact on banks’ strategic decisions and interest income, rather than on lending volumes.