Isabella Brancaccio

My primary research interests are in financial disclosure and financial regulation, with a specific focus on the impact of information disclosure and information acquisition in the banking setting. I will be on the job market in AY. 2026-2027.

JOB MARKET PAPER

Information Acquisition and Bank Fragility: Evidence from EDGAR Searches

I study the determinants of information acquisition in banking and its consequences for bank fragility. Using IP address-traced search volume on SEC EDGAR, I con struct a high-frequency, bank-level measure of information acquisition about fundamentals. I document two main empirical findings. First, consistent with theories about information-sensitivity of debt, information acquisition is state-contingent: search volume is concentrated in bad states, when banks get closer to default and receive negative media coverage. Second, information acquisition shows a negative relation with total deposit flows. Importantly, the relation is entirely driven by uninsured deposits, and is stronger for banks whose accounting reports reveal poor performance and thin capitalization, and during both idiosyncratic and systemic stress. The evidence highlights the role of information acquisition, in addition to information disclosure, for bank fragility.

WORKING PAPERS

• Brancaccio, I., Demeré, P., & Grossetti, F. – "The Information Content of Loan Contract Disclosures"

WORK IN PROGRESS

• Bischof, J., Brancaccio, I., & Elfers, F. – "The Economic Consequences of Centralizing Banks' Regulatory Risk Disclosures"
• Brancaccio, I., Carletti, E., & De Marco, F. – "Bank Failures With and Without Information Acquisition"