We document the effect of the 2007/2008 financial crisis on the volume and the quality of enterprise risk management (ERM) disclosure in the annual reports of the largest US banks, and analyze its determinants.Using a content analysis approach of the annual reports form 10-K for the years 2006, 2007, 2008, and 2009, we find that the ERM disclosure is significantly and positively associated with the crisis, bank size, board independence, duality and significantly and negatively associated with profitability, leverage, and board size. This paper seeks to fill a gap in the literature by investigating the effect of the crisis on ERM disclosure in the US banking sector context, and gives an insight into the factors affecting risk disclosure practices during the financial crisis.

The purpose of this article is to validate the quality and the relevance of enterprise risk management (ERM) information disclosure by analyzing the relation between the different dimensions of ERM disclosed in the annual report and the traditional measures of risk in the US banking sector. We use content analysis to measure ERM dimensions and a correlation analysis to document the links between risk exposure, consequences, and strategies (Aebi, Sabato, & Schimd, 2012), and the traditional measures of risk (Schnatterly, Clark, Howe, & DeVaughn, 2019) disclosed in the annual reports from 2006 to 2009. We then separately make the analysis for the period before and after the crisis to identify any effect of the crisis on ERM information’s ability to predict and reflect the banking sector’s traditional risk (Maingot, Quon, & Zéghal, 2018). Our results reveal the overall validity of ERM information in assessing traditional risk measures through a significant correlation between ERM exposure, consequences and strategies, and most of the traditional measures of risk. Finally, we confirmed the relevance and the robustness of our results through a portfolio analysis approach. This research sheds new light on the relevance of ERM information by introducing a new framework and a new methodology for assessing the validity of this information within the banking sector, where risk management plays a vital role. The results are potentially useful for banks regulators as well as for producers and users of the information on banking risks.

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effect of the financial crisis on the management of risk in the largest US banks. Design/Methodology/Approach: Levels of risk exposure, risk consequences and risk management were examined using a content analysis of the 10-K annual reports form of a sample of 59 largest U.S. banks. Paired-t-test, along with frequency analysis of the disclosures of 15 banking risks was used to test our research hypotheses. Findings: We found that the subprime financial crisis had significantly affected the levels of risk exposure and its consequences after the crisis (risks more probable and certain with major consequences). We also found minor but significant changes in the ERM strategies after the crisis for the three major categories of risk investigated in this study (financial, business, strategic). We found that the changes in ERM strategies were not significant for risks examined individually with the exception of credit risk. Finally, the number of banks disclosing their levels of ERM increased after the crisis especially for systemic risk. Practical implications: Our study is particularly relevant for standards setters and regulatory bodies for it sheds light on the vulnerability of banks to certain types of risks (such as systemic risk) and helps them orient their analysis and find comprehensive and innovative solutions for future reform. Originality/Value: This research enriches the literature on ERM disclosures and presents the first study examining the effect of the crisis on ERM levels in the US banking sector.