My research is novel and addresses up-to-date research questions that have relevant policy implications not only for financial institutions but also for the real economy. My current research agenda focuses on several aspects of banking and finance. The first of these investigates the use and transmission of soft, unverifiable information in large organizations. This process is often severely affected by agency problems and institutional frictions. Specifically, in my job market paper, that builds on my Ph.D. dissertation, I examine the effectiveness of hardening of soft information in credit scoring methodologies along the organizational hierarchy of large banking institutions. A second focus of my research analyses several aspects of securitization, such as its nexus with the financial crisis, the role of credit enhancements generally provided in the transaction and its impact on banks' credit risk-taking behaviour. I am also actively involved in research activity investigating other topics, such as the effects of bankruptcy reforms, Islamic banking, and bank lending, among others.
