Firm Leverage Research Articles

Corporate QE in Europe during the COVID-19 crisis and debt overhang

This paper finds that shareholders of highly leveraged firms benefit relatively less compared to bondholders from the corporate QE announcements by the ECB and the Bank of England, 2020, as evidence of debt overhang. Firms more heavily impacted by the pandemic gain less from corporate QE, which could also reflect debt overhang. The monetary and fiscal responses to the pandemic are complements in the sense that a stronger pandemic-related fiscal response and higher pre-announcement sovereign CDS spreads enhance the positive effects of corporate QE on equity and debt valuations.

Firm leverage and labour share: evidence from China

We examine the relationship between firm leverage and firm-level labour shares by using the panel threshold effect model. Based on the sample of Chinese firms listed in the Shanghai Stock Exchange (SHSE) and the Shenzhen Stock Exchange (SZSE) from 2010 to 2019, we find that leverage has a significant threshold effect on the labour share of firms, and on average, firm leverage is positively associated with the labour share when the debt per labour is less than 640,000 CNY (approximate 89,600 USD). When the firm leverage exceeds the threshold, firm leverage is negatively associated with labour share. We also find significant heterogeneity over state-owned enterprises (SOEs) and non-state-owned enterprises (non-SOEs), capital-intensive firms and labour-intensive firms, firms with different levels of financial constraints and firms in different life cycles. We contribute to prior literature by revealing the nonlinear association between leverage and firm-level labour share. Therefore, various policies (e.g. made credit policy to restrict lending to firms without sustainable profitability) must be implemented to increase the labour share of enterprises as well as achieve the higher-quality development of the economy in the long term.

Bankruptcy law, creditors' rights and dividend policy: evidence from a quasi-natural experiment

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine how changes in creditors' rights affect the dividend policy behavior of corporate firms.Design/methodology/approachThe authors use the implementation of the bankruptcy and insolvency code (IBC) in India in 2016 as a quasi-natural experiment setup. Differential application of this law allows them to use the Difference in Differences approach to extract the marginal impact of change in creditors' rights on the dividend policy.FindingsThe authors show that firms responded to strengthening creditors' rights by decreasing their dividend payout. Further, the authors observe that this negative response is conditioned on firm leverage and the nature of the creditor, i.e. public or private. The firms with a greater leverage ratio and a greater proportion of private debt in the total debt in the pre-event period have shown greater response to the change in the law. Lastly, the authors show that stock markets positively respond to the observed decrease in dividends only when a corresponding decrease in the leverage accompanies such a decrease.Originality/valueThe authors contribute to the finance and law literature from several aspects. First, the authors extend this stream by bringing to light the dividend policy response of firms when they are subjected to a change in creditors' rights. Second, the authors also show how firm-level factors like financial policy and the nature of the creditor condition their response to IBC. Lastly, the authors also examine the market reaction to the dividend policy response of firms to the change in bankruptcy law.

Moderating Role of COVID-19 Crisis on Firm Leverage Speed of Adjustments: Evidence from Pakistan

This study evaluates the impact of firm-specific, industry-specific, and macroeconomic determinants on the speed of capital structure adjustment and to see if COVID-19 impacted these relationships. Using quarterly data of all listed non-financial firms in Pakistan for the period 2016-2021, a dynamic panel data model using the generalized method of moment (GMM) was used for estimation. It was found that firm size, growth potential, non-debt tax shield, and GDP growth positively impact firm leverage, while profitability and tangibility negatively impact leverage. The study found evidence of convergence to target leverage by Pakistani firms. These firms' capital structure adjustment speed was estimated as 16.7% per quarter. Moreover, COVID-19 was not found to affect the adjustment speed of firms, directly. Furthermore, greater distance from target leverage, growth potential, and GDP growth rate resulted in a lower speed of adjustment, whereas higher profitability and liquidity were found to increase the speed of adjustment.

Leverage made at home: Investors' margin loan usage and firm leverage

The “homemade leverage” conjecture by Modigliani and Miller (1958) implies that firm leverage and investors' leverage are substitutes. Using the data of margin loans by Chinese stock investors, we find that investors take significantly fewer margin loans on a stock when the company announces new bank loans. This effect is entirely driven by investors' margin loan repayment upon announcements, and is stronger for firms with higher institutional ownership or lower leverage. The findings suggest that investors undo the change in firm leverage by adjusting margin loans usage, supporting the “homemade leverage” conjecture.

Esg and Dividend Policy in Indonesia

The purpose of this paper is to determine the effect of environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) performance on company dividend policy in Indonesia. This paper uses three controlled variables: firm size, firm age, and firm leverage. The data used in this research are secondary data from Thomson Reuters Eikon Database on 17 companies listed on the Indonesian Stock Exchange over 2011-2020. To analyze the data, this research uses Panel Data Regression Analysis with Common Effect Model aided by STATA 17. The results show that Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance performance has a positive and significant effect on company dividend policy in Indonesia. This paper adds value to the existing literature as it provides an overview of the impact of Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance, especially in relation to the performance of companies Indonesia. It can therefore provide a good basis for understanding of how Indonesian companies can be more appealing to investors.

Heterogeneous effects of macroprudential policies on firm leverage and value

We empirically investigate the effect of financial institution-targeted macroprudential policies on firms using a comprehensive macroprudential policy dataset and corporate panel data across 35 countries. We find that tightening of macroprudential measures persistently curbs the leverage of firms, while loosening is related to the increase in leverage. We also find that this effect on leverage is heterogeneous across firms, as net macroprudential policy actions reduce the procyclicality of leverage more significantly for small firms and firms with high leverage. Also, we estimate the effect of macroprudential policies on firm value to evaluate potential policy trade-offs as the policies restrict the firms' access to credit during economic booms while protecting them from future financial crises. The effect of macroprudential policies on firm value is generally positive despite the policies' restrictive nature. Further, the effect on firm value is heterogeneous depending on firm characteristics: the positive effect becomes stronger as firms are less leveraged, but this positive effect is weaker for firms that grow faster, suggesting potential costs of macroprudential policies for these firms.

Understanding the dynamics of capital structure, corporate governance, and corporate social responsibility in high- and low-leveraged US and Chinese firms.

Corporate social responsibility turned into a global sensation from the inception of the twenty-first century in the corporate world and grabbed immense engrossment from all stakeholders in their decision-making process. Capital structure and corporate governance practices are the well-mellowed facets of corporate finance literature. In this study, the moderating role of corporate social responsibility (CSR) between corporate governance and leverage of the US and Chinese listed firms has been established, with a further extension of analyzing the moderating role of CSR between corporate governance and leverage in high vs low leveraged firms and high CSR vs low CSR firms as the novelty of this study and has never been examined in both economies and globally. The data of 1989 Chinese-listed firms from 28 sectors of the economy and 6640 US-listed firms from 27 sectors of the economy has been taken from 2001 to 2019 and analyzed through fixed effect regression and system generalized method of moment (GMM). Results of the study reveal that CSR and corporate governance are negatively associated with the leverage of both Chinese and US firms. Moreover, the moderating role of CSR has established between corporate governance and leverage negative relationship. The moderating role of CSR in the relationship of leverage and corporate governance is established only in low-leveraged firms whereas it is insignificant in high-leveraged firms. System GMM confirms the signs and significance of the regression results; that is why regression results are robust and reliable, and there is no endogeneity problem in our model. The study also gives an insight for future research on high- and low-leveraged firms and firms with more CSR score than less CSR score with other dimensions such as firm performance and firm value variables.

Nexus between Financial Leverage and Board Independence of Public-Listed Firms: Is There Any Stylised Fact?

Introduction/Main Objectives: This paper examines the relationship between financial leverage and board independence for firms listed on the Malaysian stock exchange. Research Methods: This research is conducted using sample of 265 non-financial firms listed on Bursa Malaysia from 2014 to 2018. Finding/Results: Our results show: first, board independence is essential in reducing firm leverage. However, board independence does not affect all firms equally. In particular, board independence has insignificant influences on the financial leverage of young or small firms. In contrast, the financial leverage of old or large firms is negatively associated with board independence. Second, the financial leverage of firms with low profitability is adversely affected by the presence of independent directors. However, the negative impact diminishes as the firms' profitability increases. Conclusion: These results indicate the importance of having independent directors for old, large, or low-profitability firms to reduce their financial leverage. These findings contribute to the stylised facts of the nexus between financial leverage and board independence.

Financial literacy, financial development, and leverage of small firms

This study examines the relationship between financial literacy and the leverage of small firms, specifically of the legal forms, sole proprietorships, and partnerships. Using a cross-section of 73,302 firms in 22 countries, we find that the leverage of small firms is negatively associated with financial literacy. Further, we explore the role of financial development, bankruptcy and transaction costs, and information asymmetry, in moderating the relationship. We find that the negative relationship is less pronounced in countries with lower financial development, high bankruptcy and transaction costs, and high information asymmetry environments, respectively. We contribute to the understanding of small firms' leverage and the literature on financial literacy, SMEs, finance, and entrepreneurship. This study offers policy implications for economies that promote SMEs for entrepreneurship training and development.

Interest Rate Liberalization and Firm Leverage in China: Effects and Channels

We examine whether and how interest rate liberalization affects firm leverage in China. We find that interest rate liberalization exerts a negative effect on the leverage of firms. Specifically, firms experience a reduction in total leverage during the liberalization period, and firms’ short-term leverage declines more relative to long-term leverage. Mechanism analysis shows that firms with high information asymmetry enjoy more decline in leverage relative to firms with low information asymmetry, and further, liberalization policy enables the reduction in credit transaction costs, which indicates that the behavior of banks actively collecting corporate information is an important channel that interest rate liberalization impacts firm leverage. Finally, in additional tests, we find that the impact is more salient when firms are non-state-owned, and loss making. Compare to operating liabilities, firms experience more reduction in financial liability.

Callable or convertible debt? The role of debt overhang and covenants

We analyze what role debt overhang and covenants have in a manager’s choice between issuing callable or convertible debt when a firm needs to issue a substantial amount of debt. Callable bonds provide a higher coupon in exchange for a repurchase option. Convertible bonds offer bondholders the option to exchange debt to equity. Using a dynamic capital structure model with investment choice, we find that callable debt implies a larger debt overhang friction, and for highly leveraged firms convertible debt is preferred. Moreover, if outstanding bonds have net-worth covenants attached, callable bonds are more likely to be issued. Our empirical findings support the theory.

Determinants of Leverage: Dynamic Panel Data Evidence from Nigerian Listed Non-financial Firms

This study analyzed the determinants of leverage of non-financial firms in Nigeria, applying the Two-stage System Generalized Method of Moment (SYS-GMM) on 73 listed firms over the period 2010- 2020. Specifically, we considered how the four main determinants that have received serious attention in the literature (asset tangibility, growth, profitability and size) and two other determinants (age & liquidity) that have not been thoroughly investigated in the literature affect leverage. Results show that leverage is positively related to asset tangibility, growth and age and negatively related to profitability, size and liquidity. Thus, we conclude that high-growth and older firms with a high proportion of tangible assets tend to rely more on debt than larger firms with the capacity to generate internal funds or retained earnings. Government should provide the needed enabling environment that will enhance the ease of doing business so that firms can generate adequate profitability that will dissuade the use of debt. In this regard, monetary policies aimed at reducing the inflation rate, interest rate and appreciation of the real exchange rate are capable of enhancing the capacity and ability of Nigerian firms to generate higher profits.

Association between strategic differentiation and firm leverage manipulation: Empirical evidence from China.

Based on the context of the implementation of China's comprehensive deleveraging policy, this study explores the impact of firm strategic differentiation on the emergence of leverage manipulation behavior. The A-share listed firms in Shanghai and Shenzhen from 2007 to 2020 were used as the research objects, and the data were processed using Stata software. The greater the degree of strategic differentiation, the higher the likelihood of firm leverage manipulation. The effect of strategic differentiation on leverage manipulation is more significant when firms are under short-term debt service pressure. Auditor industry expertise can weaken the positive relationship between strategic differentiation and firm leverage manipulation. Further results show that the degree of strategic differentiation increases the likelihood of firm leverage manipulation by increasing the degree of financing constraints of the firm. This study enriches the literature on leverage manipulation, provides empirical evidence on the economic consequences of strategic differentiation, and has important implications for the precise implementation of deleveraging policies by relevant government departments, as well as a reference for external investors' decisions.

Effect of Corporate Charcteristics on Triple Bottom Line Reporting of Quoted Commercial Banks in Nigeria

The study investigated effect of ‘corporate characteristics (cc) measured by Firm Size (FS), Firm Age (FA) and Firm Leverage (FLEV) on Triple Bottom Line Reporting measured by Environmental Bottom Line Reporting (EBLR), Social Bottom Line Reporting (SBLR) and Return on Assets (ROA)’. An ex-post facto research design approach was adopted for the study. The population of the study comprises of 13 quoted commercial banks in Nigeria. The study used panel data from the period of eleven (11) years (2006-2015) and 13 quoted commercial banks were chosen as the sample size using purposive sampling technique. The study utilized secondary data obtained from the annual reports of quoted commercial banks listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) for the period 2010-2020. Content analysis was applied in measuring disclosure, descriptive statistics and panel regression Analysis using Eview version 8 was applied in testing hypotheses. The study result revealed that there was positive (t-statistics, 0.380644) but non-significant (p-value, 0.7040) effect of Firm Size on Environmental Bottom Line Reporting (EBLR) of commercial banks. Also there was a negative (t-statistics, -1.239531) but non-significant (p-value, 0.2172) effect of Firm Age (FA) on SBLR quoted commercial banks. Finally there was a positive (t-statistics, 3.131350) but significant (p-value, 0.021) association between Firm Leverage (FLEV) and ROA. This implies that the level of environmental & social performance and reporting does not depend on the size or age of company. Based on the findings, the study recommended among others, that the Central Bank Nigeria and those charged with governance in commercial banks should initiate policies to improve sustainable social and environmental performance practices especially in the area of afforestation, erosion control, mother – child health care and pandemic sensitization and support.

Drivers of firms’ sociability on social media: Evidence from an emerging country

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the drivers of firms’ sociability on social media (SM), an unregulated area, in an emerging country, namely, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). The sample of this study is 345 non-financial listed firms on Tadawul stock exchange during 2016-2019. Data are collected from several sources such as annual reports, the official website of the sample companies. Other data are collected manually such as the presence of the CEO and the sampled companies on SM. Our findings show that firm size and leverage level are important firms’ characteristics that drive firms’ sociability on social media. The finding shows that CEO sociability on social media is a key CEOs’ characteristic that drives firms’ sociability on social media. Further analysis reports that there is a complementary effect between CEO’s sociability on social media and firm size in increasing firms’ sociability on SM. The findings also show that there is a complementary effect between CEO’s sociability on social media and firm leverage in increasing firms’ sociability on SM. This study contributes to the disclosure literature by providing empirical evidence of the drivers of firms’ sociability on SM, an unregulated area in KSA. It also complements the considerable literature on voluntary disclosure which ignores the use of SM platforms as a “new” voluntary type of reporting. The present study complements recent literature on the adoption of SM by providing evidence that the sociability of top leaders is a driver of firms’ sociability on SM.

Firm’s Climate Change Risk and Firm Value: An Empirical Analysis of the Energy Industry

We explore the impact on firm value by numerous factors in the energy industry using panel data from 2010 to 2020. The analysis employs different econometric methods, including fixed-effects, random-effects, two-stage least squares, and generalized method of moments. Our main variables of interest are firm value, firm-level climate change risk, fixed assets, leverage, dividend yield, market capitalization, and assets tangibility. The result suggests that investors are valuing energy firms less due to their exposure to climate change risk. We found that climate change risk, fixed assets, firm leverage, and assets tangibility are negatively related while market capitalization and dividend yield are positively related to firm value. These findings have important implications for energy firms, policymakers, and investors. Energy firms need to consider climate change risk in their investment decisions to maintain their market value, and policymakers should encourage firms to disclose their climate change risk to improve market efficiency. Finally, investors need to incorporate climate change risk in their investment strategies to mitigate potential financial losses.

Impact of Firm's Leverage on Financial Performance: Evidence from the Pharmaceuticals Industry of Bangladesh

Impact of Firm's Leverage on Financial Performance: Evidence from the Pharmaceuticals Industry of Bangladesh

Market Leverage of Real Estate Firms in India: Empirical Study

Market Leverage of Real Estate Firms in India: Empirical Study

Impact of Managerial Entrenchment on Financial Flexibility and Leverage of Small Public Firms: Policy Implications for Global Economic Crisis

Impact of Managerial Entrenchment on Financial Flexibility and Leverage of Small Public Firms: Policy Implications for Global Economic Crisis