Purpose

This study aims to investigate window dressing as practiced by commercial banks in Kuwait, using monthly aggregate balance sheet data covering the period January 1993 to December 2017.

Design/methodology/approach

This study applies the structural time series model to decompose an observed time series into unobserved components based on monthly data covering January 1993 to December 2017 on the consolidated balance sheet of commercial banks in Kuwait.

Findings

The empirical results indicate that Kuwaiti commercial banks indulge in upward window dressing to boost size and liquidity. This kind of behaviour is indicated by a statistically significant rise in assets under the control of banks in December, followed by a statistically significant decline in January. The operation is funded by borrowing, leading to a December rise and a January fall in foreign and other liabilities, which are also under the control of commercial banks.

Originality/value

This study uses a novel methodology to detect window dressing based on the seasonal behaviour of balance sheet items. This study suggests a unified framework for the motives, targets, types and consequences of window dressing and how they are related.

中文翻译：

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新兴经济体银行业的门面：来自总体数据的证据

目的

本研究旨在利用 1993 年 1 月至 2017 年 12 月期间的月度汇总资产负债表数据，调查科威特商业银行的门面装饰行为。

设计/方法论/途径

本研究应用结构时间序列模型，根据科威特商业银行合并资产负债表上 1993 年 1 月至 2017 年 12 月的月度数据，将观察到的时间序列分解为未观察到的成分。

发现

实证结果表明，科威特商业银行沉迷于向上装饰以扩大规模和流动性。这种行为的表现是，12 月份银行控制下的资产在统计上显着增加，随后 1 月份在统计上显着下降。该业务的资金来源是借款，导致外国负债和其他负债在 12 月份上升，在 1 月份下降，这些负债也受到商业银行的控制。

原创性/价值

本研究使用一种新颖的方法来根据资产负债表项目的季节性行为来检测门面装饰。这项研究为门面装饰的动机、目标、类型和后果以及它们之间的关系提出了一个统一的框架。