Determinants of voluntary disclosure in Tunisian bank’s reports

Disclosure and bank transparency are currently of crucial importance with regard to the adaptation of regulatory tools (Basle II) to enhance the stability of the banking sector. Voluntary disclosure in banking firms can improve the transparency of market transaction and forcing bankers to reduce the risk taking. The paper aims to examine the determinants of voluntary disclosures of listed banks in Tunisia. Using Prais-winsten regression model to test the determinants of the level of voluntary disclosure, on a sample based on 10 banks observations during the period 2000-2011. Results show that higher board size, blockholder ownership and state ownership is associated with decreased disclosure. However, proportion of independent directors, CEO duality and auditors’ reputation are not related to banks’ voluntary disclosure. Moreover, an increase in foreign ownership and bank performance increases corporate disclosure. The paper also finds that larger banks had greater disclosure. This paper provides evidence for Tunisian regulators to improve corporate governance and optimize ownership structure. Distinct from prior empirical research based on disclosure behavior in developed markets, this study examines the determinants of voluntary disclosures of listed banks in Tunisia. Keywords: Voluntary disclosure, Banks, Tunisia, Corporate ownership, Boards of director

Microstructure du marché des changes interbancaire tunisien : les déterminants de la fourchette des prix

This paper deals with the Tunisian foreign exchange market microstructure. The issue is the identification of pricing elements on this market. The GMM is commonly used to identify the components on which the Tunisian market maker focuses to determine his bid-ask spread for the TND/USD and the EUR/USD currency pairs. This study shows out that some of the elements making up the bid-ask spread predicted by the theory are considered by the Tunisian trader when fixing his pricing strategy. Yet, the bid-ask strategy differs from a transaction currency to the other. Cet article s’intéresse à la microstructure du marché des changes interbancaire tunisien. La problématique étant l’identification des déterminants des prix sur ce dernier, la méthode des moments généralisés est utilisée en matière de détermination de la fourchette des prix au moment de la réception d’un ordre, et cela, pour deux couples de devises (EUR/USD et TND/USD). Les résultats montrent que quelques déterminants de la fourchette des prix proposés par la théorie sont pris en compte par le cambiste tunisien dans la fixation de son spread. La stratégie qu’il adopte pour la fixation de ses prix diffère d’une devise à une autre.