Change of main bank function and its meaning in corporate governance

人们普遍认为，主要银行在日本企业融资中扮演着重要角色，它是企业的贷款人、股东和董事的来源。然而，近年来，企业与其主要银行之间的关系发生了变化。本文主要对代理成本降低效应、银行主体的基本功能进行了实证分析。其目的是揭示随着时间的推移在主要银行关系中发生的变化及其背后的因素。我们的研究结果表明，即使在资本市场受到监管的情况下，也不清楚主银行是否可能发挥提供借贷公司信息的作用，从而降低其代理成本。然而，在资本市场自由化之后，没有观察到明显的代理成本降低效果。这支持了这样一种观点，即严格监管的资本市场对于主要银行有效发挥其作用是必要的，但也存在一种不可否认的更有可能的情况，即银行剥削那些没有其他融资手段的公司。我们的分析表明，在观察到的变化背后，由于资本市场的自由化，能够发行债券的优质公司的主银行关系减弱，而信誉较差的公司之间的主银行关系相应得到维持和加强。随着金融体系改革的继续，可能会有更多的公司削弱与主要银行的关系。因此，很难找到主要银行吸收个人储蓄并将其引导到大公司的存在理由。将来，可能只有不披露信息的小型公司才需要与主银行保持密切关系。为了适应金融环境的这些变化，银行迫切需要摆脱目前对抵押品的痴迷，加强对技术和业务可行性的评估能力。少

It is generally understood that the main bank has played a major role in Japanese corporate finance as a lender to firms, a shareholder, and a source of directors. In recent years, however, changes have been observed in the relationship between firms and their main banks.This paper contains an empirical analysis of the agency cost reduction effect, the basic function of the main bank. Its purpose is to uncover the changes that have occurred over time in the main bank relationship and the factors behind them. Our results indicate that even when the capital markets were regulated, it is not clear that the main bank might play the role of producing information about borrowing firms which had the effect of reducing their agency costs. After the capital markets had been liberalized, however, no clear agency cost reduction effect was observed. This supports the view that tightly regulated capital markets are necessary for main banks to play their role effectively, but there is also an undeni … More able possibility that banks exploit firms that have no resort to other means of fund-raising.Our analysis indicates that behind the changes observed were a weakening of the main bank relationships of quality firms that were able, thanks to the liberalization of capital markets, to issue bonds, and a corresponding maintenance and strengthening of the main bank relationship among less creditworthy firms.As reforms to the financial system continue, it is likely that greater numbers of firms will weaken their main bank relationships. It is therefore difficult to discover a raison d'etre for the main bank in absorbing personal savings and chaneling it to large firms. In the future, it may be only smaller firms who do not disclose information that require close relationships with a main bank. To adapt to these changes in the financial environment, it is urgent that banks wean themselves from their current obsession with collateral and strengthen their ability to evaluate technology and business feasibility. Less