Abstract | The paper investigates market reaction to negative reports published by analysts and auditors for a sample of investment, commercial, and savings banks during the 2008 financial crisis and compares the results to non-crisis periods. The results show that during 2008, analysts' downgrades and underperformance reports resulted in stronger negative returns than during non-crisis periods and that investment banks experienced the worst stock price declines. The market reaction to auditors’ issues and going concern flags is different during the crisis as well. In non-crisis periods no reaction to auditors’ bad news is reported, while during the crisis there is a negative and significant reaction for investment banks only. Overall, the type of bank, investment versus commercial, significantly contributes to explaining the variability in returns during the financial crisis.
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