Deregulation of bank underwriting activities: impacts in the Euro–yen and Japanese corporate bond markets Original Research Article

The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of a 1993 relaxation of the restrictions governing the underwriting operations of Japanese banks on bond issues in the Euro–yen and Japanese corporate bond markets. Evidence is presented to suggest that the relaxation of the restrictions governing the underwriting operations of Japanese banks was associated with a significant fall in spreads in both the Euro–yen and Japanese corporate bond markets.