Staff profile

Before joining Durham in June 2020, Francesco was Chair in Banking in the Accounting and Finance Division at the University of Leeds since 2013. Francesco has previously worked as an Associate Professor at Leeds and as a Lecturer in Financial Intermediation at the University of Cagliari. When at the University of Leeds, Francesco was Deputy Director of the Centre for Advanced Studies in Finance and Deputy Director of the International Banking Institute (IBI). He has collaborated with academics from different countries and with policy makers from different organizations. Research projects conducted with the European Commission have led to the development of an impact case study for the 2021 REF.Francesco's research interests lie in bank regulation, governance and systemic risk of European and US banks. In particular, Francesco has examined the effectiveness of corporate governance and regulatory mechanisms in limiting risk-taking by banks. Francesco has taught a wide range of subjects at the UG and PG level, including Commercial Banking, Financial Management, International Banking and Finance, Investment Banking and Risk Management in Banking.

Mini Biography

Francesco joined Durham in June 2020. Prior to this and since 2013, Francesco was Chair in Banking in the Accounting and Finance Division at the University of Leeds.

• Banking stability and regulation
• Governance
• Systemic risk
• Bank business models
• Executive compensation
• Corporate finance

• Centre for Banking, Institutions and Development (CBID)
• Economics & Finance Department

Authored book

• Hagendorff, Jens, Keasey, Kevin & Vallascas, Francesco (2013). Size, Risk, and Governance in European Banking. Oxford University Press.

Chapter in book

• Hagendorff, Jens & Vallascas, Francesco (Published). Capital Regulation After the Financial Crisis. In Asset–Liability Management for Financial Institutions Balancing Financial Stability with Strategic Objectives. Bob Swarup Bloomsbury. 75-88.
• Mascia, Danilo V., Keasey, Kevin & Vallascas, Francesco (2016). Did Basel II Affect Credit Growth to Corporate Borrowers During the Crisis? In Financial Crisis, Bank Behaviour and Credit Crunch. Rossi, Stefania P.S. & Malavasi, Roberto Springer. 83.
• Hagendorff, J. & Vallascas, V. (2012). CEO Pay and Risk-taking in Banking: The Roles of Bonus Plans and Deferred Compensation in Curbing Bank Risk-taking. In Research Handbook on International Banking and Governance. Barth, J., Lin, C. & Wihlbor, C. Edward Elgar Publishing.

Journal Article

• Srivastav, A. & Vallascas, F. (2022). Small Business Lending and Regulation for Small Banks. Management Science 68(10): 7742-7760.
• Gilani, U., Keasey, K. & Vallascas, F. (2021). Board Financial Expertise and the Capital Decisions of US Banks. Journal of Corporate Finance 71: 102091.
• Hagendorff, J., Saunders, A., Steffen, S. & Vallascas, F. (2021). The Wolves of Wall Street? Managerial Attributes and Bank Risk. Journal of Financial Intermediation 47: 100921.
• Castro, P., Keasey, K., Amor-Tapia, B., Tascon, M.T. & Vallascas, F. (2020). Does Debt Concentration Depend on the Risk-Taking Incentives in CEO Compensation? Journal of Corporate Finance 64: 101684.
• Spokeviciute, Laima, Keasey, Kevin & Vallascas, Francesco (2019). Do financial crises cleanse the banking industry? Evidence from US commercial bank exits. Journal of Banking & Finance 99: 222-236.
• Hagendorff, Jens Keasey, Kevin & Vallascas, Francesco (2018). When Banks Grow Too Big for Their National Economies: Tail Risks, Risk Channels, and Government Guarantees. Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis 53(5): 2041-2066.
• Srivastav, Abhishek, Keasey, Kevin, Mollah, Sabur & Vallascas, Francesco (2017). CEO turnover in large banks: Does tail risk matter? Journal of Accounting and Economics 64(1): 37-55.
• Vallascas, Francesco, Mollah, Sabur & Keasey, Kevin (2017). Does the impact of board independence on large bank risks change after the global financial crisis? Journal of Corporate Finance 44: 149-166.
• Kirkpatrick, Ian, Vallascas, Francesco & Veronesi, Gianluca (2017). Business Experts on Public Sector Boards: What Do They Contribute? Public Administration Review 77(5): 754-765.
• Dinger, Valeriya & Vallascas, Francesco (2016). Do Banks Issue Equity When They Are Poorly Capitalized? Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis 51(5): 1575-1609.
• Zhang, Q., Vallascas, F., Keasey, K. & Cai, C. X. (2015). Are Market-Based Measures of Global Systemic Importance of Financial Institutions Useful to Regulators and Supervisors? Journal of Money, Credit and Banking 47(7): 1403-1442.
• Mura, Alessandro, Emmanuel, Clive & Vallascas, Francesco (2013). Challenging the reliability of comparables under profit-based transfer pricing methods. Accounting and Business Research 43(5): 483-505.
• Vallascas, Francesco & Hagendorff, Jens (2013). CEO Bonus Compensation and Bank Default Risk: Evidence from the U.S. and Europe. Financial Markets, Institutions & Instruments 22(2): 47-89.
• Vallascas, Francesco & Hagendorff, Jens (2013). The Risk Sensitivity of Capital Requirements: Evidence from an International Sample of Large Banks. Review of Finance 17(6): 1947-1988.
• Vallascas, Francesco & Keasey, Kevin (2013). The Volatility of European Banking Systems: A Two-Decade Study. Journal of Financial Services Research 43(1): 37-68.
• Veronesi, Gianluca, Kirkpatrick, Ian & Vallascas, Francesco (2013). Clinicians on the board: What difference does it make? Social Science & Medicine 77: 147-155.
• Vallascas, Francesco & Keasey, Kevin (2012). Bank resilience to systemic shocks and the stability of banking systems: Small is beautiful. Journal of International Money and Finance 31(6): 1745-1776.
• Hagendorff, Jens & Vallascas, Francesco (2011). CEO pay incentives and risk-taking: Evidence from bank acquisitions. Journal of Corporate Finance 17(4): 1078-1095.
• Vallascas, Francesco & Hagendorff, Jens (2011). The impact of European bank mergers on bidder default risk. Journal of Banking & Finance 35(4): 902-911.
• De Lisa, Riccardo, Zedda, Stefano, Vallascas, Francesco, Campolongo, Francesca & Marchesi, Massimo (2011). Modelling Deposit Insurance Scheme Losses in a Basel 2 Framework. Journal of Financial Services Research 40(3): 123-141.