Thesis (M.Sc.) - Cairo University - Faculty of Commerce - Department of Accounting

This study examines the impact of bank leverage in reflecting the probability of default, and in return reflecting the true financial conditions of banks. The bank leverage is classified into accounting leverage, for which the financial instruments are measured at fair value, and regulatory leverage. The Z- score and volatility of stock returns (i.e., robustness test) are the two proxies of default risk. The former is accounting based measure, whereas the latter is market based measure. Using a sample of 12 banks comprises Egyptian governmental and non-governmental banks that are listed in the Egyptian stock exchange. Additionally, three governmental banks that are not listed over the period 2010-2014. The results indicate a negative association between accounting leverage and default risk in the main test, however a positive association in the robustness test. Furthermore, the results also show a positive association between regulatory leverage and default risk

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