Jf. Houston et C. James, CEO COMPENSATION AND BANK RISK - IS COMPENSATION IN BANKING STRUCTURED TO PROMOTE RISK-TAKING, Journal of monetary economics, 36(2), 1995, pp. 405-431
This paper examines whether executive compensation in banking is struc
tured to promote risk taking. We find that, on average, bank CEOs rece
ive less cash compensation, are less likely to participate in a stock
option plan, hold fewer stock options, and receive a smaller percentag
e of their total compensation in the form of options and stock than do
CEOs in other industries. Cross-sectional differences in the structur
e of compensation contracts within banking are also examined. We find
a positive and significant relation between the importance of equity-b
ased incentives and the value of the bank's charter. This result is in
consistent with the hypothesis that compensation policies promote risk
taking in banking.