Financial research databases: firms and banks
Build comparable firm and bank records from licensed sources
Orbis supplies company information including private firms; BankFocus specialises in bank information; Compustat supplies standardised company financial data. Coverage, consolidation levels, fiscal dates and accounting definitions differ. These sources support firm and bank panels, but a common field label does not guarantee comparability across jurisdictions or vendors. Record the precise product, release, filters and extraction date.
Choose these for company or bank comparisons when the required institutions, periods and financial-statement items are covered by an available subscription. Pilot the key variables before finalising the sample and modelling plan.
Strengths
- Standardised fields support large firm-level panels
- Different sources extend coverage to private companies or banks
Limitations
- Coverage and missingness can be selective
- Consolidated accounts, restatements and fiscal calendars complicate comparison
Know the boundary
These are data sources rather than causal designs. Financial ratios from different accounting regimes may require harmonisation before modelling.