DOES PUBLIC LISTING AFFECT BANK PROFITABILITY? EVIDENCE FROM US BANKS

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the determinants of US bank profitability between 2002 and 2015. Specifically, we divide banks into three size groups, and focus on the impact of public listing on bank profitability. We find that small- and medium-sized public banks are less profitable than private banks of corresponding size. However, large public banks are more profitable than large private banks. Moreover, regression results indicate that loans and diversification have a positive impact on bank profitability in all size groups.