Bank Transparency and Deposit Flows

Many theories link depositors’ behavior to the transparency of banks. Yet, very little is known about this relationship empirically. Analyzing US commercial banks from 1994-2013, we document that uninsured deposit flows are more sensitive to information about bank performance when the quality of the information provided by the bank is higher. We also provide evidence linking this information quality to deposit rates, banks’ investments, and profitability. Our findings provide support for the view that bank transparency is a double-edged sword: While more information facilitates monitoring by depositors, it also adversely affects banks’ unique role in creating stable liquid assets for depositors.