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Professor Kevin Keasey

Profile

Professor Kevin Keasey

Chair in Accounting and Finance and the Leeds Permanent Building Society Professor of Financial Services (University of Leeds), Director of the International Banking Institute (IBI) and the Centre for Advanced Studies in Finance (CASIF)

Qualifications and Recognition

BA (Econ, Durham), MA and PhD (Econ, Newcastle)

Distinguished Academic Award, British Accounting and Finance Association (2025)

Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences (FAcSS) (2026)

Honorary Fellow of the Chartered Banker Institute (2026)

15,650 citations, h-index 61, 10 index 153

Overview

Kevin Keasey is an academic in Accounting, Banking and Finance whose work has combined research, doctoral supervision, and academic leadership in the UK and internationally.

His research has examined financial behaviour, corporate governance, banking risk, and the relationship between financial systems, regulation, and broader societal issues, including climate change.

Research and PhD Supervision

Kevin’s research includes over 150 journal articles and 14 books, with publications in journals such as the Journal of Accounting and Economics, Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, Journal of Corporate Finance, Accounting, Organisations and Society, and The Economic Journal.

His work spans several decades and focuses on how individuals, firms, and markets operate under uncertainty and imperfect information. Key areas include finance and market behaviour, corporate governance, banking risk, and more recently climate finance.

His research on SME finance contributed to early UK policy discussions on firm growth, while later work has addressed corporate governance and banking risk, including issues highlighted during the Global Financial Crisis. More recent research considers financial markets and environmental outcomes.

He has supervised over fifty PhD students, many of whom now hold academic and professional positions internationally.

Externally funded research projects exceed £3m.

Leadership and Institution Building

Kevin has held senior leadership roles at the University of Leeds, including over seventeen years as Head of Department, and contributed to the development of Accounting and Finance research there.

He has been involved in establishing a number of research centres, including the International Banking Institute (1997), the Centre for Advanced Studies in Finance (2005), and the Leeds Enterprise Centre (2009).

Curriculum and Programme Development

He has contributed to the development of MBA and postgraduate finance education across UK institutions, including programmes associated with Leeds University Business School.

In the early 1990s, he co-directed the Chancellor of the Exchequer’s Financial Sector Scheme for the former Soviet Union (£4.5m).

Teaching and Supervision

Kevin has taught across accounting, finance, and banking, with a focus on linking academic research and practice. His teaching and supervision have been recognised through institutional awards.

Professional and Policy Engagement

His research interests have informed professional activities as a director, adviser, and mentor in both listed and private organisations.

Responsibilities

  • Director, International Banking Institute (IBI)
  • Director, Centre for Advanced Studies in Finance (CASIF)

Research groups and institutes

  • Centre for Advanced Studies in Finance
  • International Banking Institute

Current postgraduate researchers