Low Asset Tangibility Research Articles

Inflation anchoring and growth: The role of credit constraints

Can inflation anchoring foster growth? To answer this question, we use panel data on sectoral growth for 22 manufacturing industries from 39 advanced and emerging market economies over 1990–2014 and employ a difference-in-differences strategy based on the theoretical prediction that higher inflation uncertainty particularly depresses investment in industries that are more credit constrained. Industries characterized by high external financial dependence, liquidity needs, and R&D intensity, and low asset tangibility, tend to grow faster in countries with well-anchored inflation expectations. The results, based on an IV approach—using indicators of monetary policy transparency and central bank independence as instruments—confirm our findings.

Credit Refinancing and Tax Avoidance

This paper examines the disciplining effects of credit markets on corporate tax avoidance strategies. We show that, during adverse credit market conditions, firms with refinancing needs prefer to forgo the after-tax cash flow benefits of tax avoidance to regain the access to the traditionally risk-averse credit markets. Our results show that firms increase their effective tax rate by 2 percentage points when facing refinancing constraints. This effect is more pronounced for firms with lower asset tangibility and higher default probability. Adverse credit market conditions together with refinancing needs prompt firms to become more conservative in their future tax avoidance strategy for up to three years. Moreover, we show that firms engage in less tax deferral strategies, while leaving their leverage and debt shield unchanged. Overall, these findings are consistent with credit markets putting pressure on tax avoiding firms.

Liquidity Creation, Investment, and Growth

Liquidity creation (the transformation of liquid liabilities into illiquid assets) is a key function of banks. We show that liquidity creation is positively associated with economic growth at both country and industry levels. In particular, liquidity creation helps growth by boosting tangible, but not intangible investment. Our results suggest an important non-linearity; liquidity creation does not contribute to growth in countries with a higher share of industries relying on intangible assets. We rationalize these results using a model in which banks increase aggregate investment by reducing liquidity risk, but low asset tangibility hampers liquidity creation by exacerbating moral hazard problems. Together, these findings provide new insights into the functions of banks, but also highlight their more limited role in supporting innovative industries.

The choice between corporate and structured financing: evidence from new corporate borrowings

We examine the factors that influence nonfinancial firms’ choice of issuing standard corporate bonds vis-à-vis contracting structured finance, in the form of project finance or asset securitization arrangements. Using a data set of deals closed by 4,700 European borrowers between 2000 and 2016, we find that informational frictions and issuance costs affect public firms’ borrowing source choices. Findings suggest that borrowers choose structured finance when they are relatively smaller, less profitable, have lower asset tangibility, and seek long-term financing. Our findings also document that borrowers resorting to asset securitization tend to have larger growth opportunity sets. Borrowers resorting to project finance are less creditworthy than corporate bond issuers and, on average, asset securitization deals have an 87.6 basis points borrowing cost advantage over corporate bond deals for switchers.

Inflation Anchoring, Real Borrowing Costs, and Growth: Evidence from Sectoral Data

Central bankers often assert that anchoring of inflation expectations and reducing inflation uncertainty are good for economic outcomes. We test this claim and search for a relevant channel using panel data on sectoral growth for 22 manufacturing industries from 36 advanced and emerging market economies over the period 1990-2014. Our difference-in-difference strategy is based on the theoretical prediction that inflation uncertainty has larger effects in industries that are more credit constrained by increasing effective real borrowing costs. The results show that industries characterized by high external financial dependence, low asset tangibility, and high R&D intensity tend to grow faster in countries with well-anchored inflation expectations. The results are robust to controlling for the interaction between these characteristics and a broad set of macroeconomic variables over the sample period, including the level of inflation and output volatility. The results are also robust to IV techniques, using indicators of monetary policy transparency and independence as instruments.

High leverage and variance of SMEs performance

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between leverage and firm performance using small business data from France by estimating the effects of leverage on both average firm performance and the variance of firm performance. Design/methodology/approach Focusing on French small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), which tend to be dependent on bank loans, the authors examine the relationship between leverage and firm performance. This study was based on a unique panel data set of more than 2,157 manufacturing SMEs covering the years 2007-2015. The authors estimate the effects of leverage on both average firm performance and the variance of firm performance. Findings Focusing on the average effects of leverage, the authors find that highly leveraged firms suffer from poor performance. In addition, the variance in firm performance is higher if firms are highly leveraged. Results also underline that leveraged firms are better performers when they have sufficient collateral assets. Research limitations/implications The study, however, has also some limitations. The first one is that the findings were obtained for only one industry sector, so attempts should be made to study the issue, as it applies to other sectors as well. Second is the context where the study was conducted. This study has been conducted based on data gathered from SMEs in France within a specific socioeconomic context (2007-2008 global financial crisis), which may also limit the generalizability of the results for different contexts with different socioeconomic situations. It would also be useful, to have a better explanation for the performance of SMEs, to add to the model more financial variables or other types of variables such as those related to managerial skills or to the macro-economic environment. Finally, further research could examine the joint impact of both leverage and ownership structure on firm’s performance as a large number of French firms are family firms. The limitations of this study, however, can in fact be an opportunity for future researchers to conduct studies addressing those limitations. Practical implications This research has some implications for small business lending. SME owners and managers may, on the one hand, be encouraged by the fact that collateral assets can reduce agency costs, thereby positively affecting firm performance. On the other hand, high leverage can facilitate firm growth if firms have collateral assets. This implies that policymakers interested in stimulating SMEs should develop more suitable collaterals for high-risk SMEs with low asset tangibility. Social implications The results also have implications for financial institutions. To prevent unexpected and extensive bankruptcies, banks might classify firms with negative cash flows as borrower in danger of bankruptcy. However, the results show that highly leveraged firms with good investment opportunities and high collateral assets reduce the probability of bankruptcy. This implies that banks need to evaluate the credit risk of very highly leveraged small businesses more carefully. Originality/value It should be noted that the case of France remains marginal in terms of the conducted studies.

Performance Contingencies in CEO Equity Awards and Debt Contracting

We find that firms that grant performance-contingent (p-c) equity awards with accounting-based vesting conditions to their CEOs have lower cost of debt and less restrictive loan terms. The benefits of p-c accounting awards on debt financing are greater when the moral hazard problem faced by debtholders is potentially more significant—for example, for firms with poorer credit ratings and lower asset tangibility. We find some evidence that certain types of p-c equity awards with stock price–based conditions increase the cost of debt financing. The adoption of p-c accounting-based awards increases firm value, as indicated by stock and bond event studies. Overall, our findings suggest that the incentive-compatibility of accounting-based p-c awards mitigates the potential agency conflict between shareholders and debtholders.

Performance Contingencies in CEO Equity Awards and Debt Contracting

ABSTRACTWe find that firms that grant performance-contingent (p-c) equity awards with accounting-based vesting conditions to their CEOs have lower cost of debt and less restrictive loan terms. The benefits of p-c accounting-based awards on debt financing are greater when the moral hazard problem faced by debtholders is potentially more significant—for example, for firms with poorer credit ratings and lower asset tangibility. We find some evidence that certain types of p-c equity awards with stock price-based conditions increase the cost of debt financing. The adoption of p-c accounting-based awards increases firm value, as indicated by stock and bond event studies. Overall, our findings suggest that the incentive compatibility of accounting-based p-c awards mitigates the potential agency conflict between shareholders and debtholders.JEL Classifications: G32; G34; J33; M12; M52.

The Choice between Corporate and Structured Financing: Evidence from New Corporate Borrowings

We examine the factors that influence nonfinancial firms’ choice of issuing standard corporate bonds vis-a-vis contracting structured finance, in the form of project finance or asset securitization arrangements. Using a data set of deals closed by 4,700 European borrowers between 2000 and 2016, we find that informational frictions and issuance costs affect public firms’ borrowing source choices. Findings suggest that borrowers choose structured finance when they are relatively smaller, less profitable, have lower asset tangibility, and seek long-term financing. Our findings also document that borrowers resorting to asset securitization tend to have larger growth opportunity sets. Borrowers resorting to project finance are less creditworthy than corporate bond issuers and, on average, asset securitization deals have an 87.6 basis points borrowing cost advantage over corporate bond deals for switchers.

Inflation Anchoring and Growth: Evidence from Sectoral Data

Central bankers often assert that low inflation and anchoring of inflation expectations are good for economic growth (Bernanke 2007, Plosser 2007). We test this claim using panel data on sectoral growth for 22 manufacturing industries for 36 advanced and emerging market economies over the period 1990-2014. Inflation anchoring in each country is measured as the response of inflation expectations to inflation surprises (Levin et al., 2004). We find that credit constrained industries—those characterized by high external financial dependence and R&D intensity and low asset tangibility—tend to grow faster in countries with well-anchored inflation expectations. The results are robust to controlling for the interaction between these characteristics and a broad set of macroeconomic variables over the sample period, such as financial development, inflation, the size of government, overall economic growth, monetary policy counter-cyclicality and the level of inflation. Importantly, the results suggest that it is inflation anchoring and not the level of inflation per se that has a significant effect on average industry growth. Finally, the results are robust to IV techniques, using as instruments indicators of monetary policy transparency and independence.

Asset Non-Specificity and the Pledgeability of Patents

This study examines the relationship between patent non-specificity and patent pledgeability. Using a unique dataset from the USPTO, I track patent ownership changes for public U.S. firms between 1990 and 2012. I provide a method for measuring patent non-specificity at the portfolio level. Consistent with the idea that non-specificity makes a firm's assets useful as collateral, I find that patents with general uses are more likely to be pledged as collateral in loan contracts. Specifically, for technology firms that experienced unexpected declines in their patent portfolio values after the 2001 recession, patent non-specificity was the key determinant of patent pledgeability. Moreover, patent non-specificity is an important measure of a firm’s risk, as well as its patent collateral quality. Patent non-specificity is positively associated with a firm’s leverage, controlling for other relevant factors. Similarly, it is positively associated with syndicated loan maturity but negatively correlated with loan pricing, and the correlations are stronger for firms with low asset tangibility.

The motives of cash reserve and bidder cash reserve effects

We find that the negative relation between bidder announcement returns and bidder cash reserve is present only when a bidder has a low asset tangibility. We further find that cash-rich companies acquire less, especially in the past two decades. After acquisitions, cash-rich bidders spend more on capital expenditure and less on acquisitions. When asset tangibility is low, cash-rich bidders operationally outperform cash-poor bidders. In contrast, we do not find that the G-index or E-index systematically alters the association between bidder announcement returns or post-acquisition operating performance and bidder cash reserve. We concluded that the bidders' cash reserve effects are more related to the precautionary motive of cash reserve than to the agency theory of free cash flow.

Financial Reforms and International Trade

Abstract We provide evidence that financial reforms (over 1976–2005) significantly affected exports, in particular, of industries with higher external capital dependence and low asset tangibility. The coverage of reforms is comprehensive, encompassing the banking sector, interest rates, equity and international capital markets. Our methodology improves upon existing studies by controlling for time-varying unobserved exporter characteristics and unobserved country-specific industry characteristics. We find significant effects of various reforms with diverse impacts by intensity. Further, event studies that incorporate possible anticipated and lagged effects of commencement of reform policies confirm the findings.

Aggregate Risks and the Diversification Discount

This paper develops a structural model of firm diversification to study the role of organizational flexibility as a tool to manage liquidity in the presence of aggregate productivity and financial shocks. The model features endogenous diversification and refocusing in a two sector economy, where each sector is characterized by a different level of asset tangibility. The estimated model is able to generate the average diversification discount as well as its substantial decrease during recessions and credit crunches as observed in the data. This decrease in the discount can be attributed to tighter collateral constraints of young single-segment firms with low asset tangibility. Counterfactual experiments show that the value of organizational flexibility -the ability to dynamically diversify and refocus- accounts for 10.5% of firm value, of which we attribute 38% to financial pooling benefits and 62% to the option to refocus.

Loan collateral and financial reporting conservatism: Chinese evidence

We examine the relation between the use of collateral and financial reporting conservatism for a sample of Chinese firms. In the absence of flexibility in risk pricing through interest rates and strong contract enforcement in China, we find that lenders reduce collateral requirements from more conservative borrowers and that this negative relation is significantly moderated by borrowers’ poor credit quality and low asset tangibility. Our finding that conservatism can result in a tangible benefit in the form of lower collateral requirements indicates that lenders value financial reporting conservatism. However, the benefit from financial reporting conservatism is muted as lenders become more concerned about borrowers’ default risk or ability to pledge tangible assets as collateral against loans.

Loan Collateral and Financial Reporting Conservatism: Chinese Evidence

We examine the relation between the use of collateral and financial reporting conservatism for a sample of Chinese firms. In the absence of flexibility in risk pricing through interest rates and strong contract enforcement in China, we find that lenders reduce collateral requirements from more conservative borrowers and that this negative relation is significantly moderated by borrowers’ poor credit quality and low asset tangibility. Our finding that conservatism can result in a tangible benefit in the form of lower collateral requirements indicates that lenders value financial reporting conservatism. However, the benefit from financial reporting conservatism is muted as lenders become more concerned about borrowers’ default risk or ability to pledge tangible assets as collateral against loans.

Are Corporate Default Probabilities Consistent with the Static Trade-off Theory?

Default probability plays a central role in the static trade-off theory of capital structure. We directly test this theory by regressing the probability of default on proxies for costs and benefits of debt. Contrary to predictions of the theory, firms with higher bankruptcy costs, i.e., smaller firms and firms with lower asset tangibility, choose capital structures with higher bankruptcy risk. Further analysis suggests that the capital structures of smaller firms with lower asset tangibility--which tend to have less access to capital markets--are more sensitive to negative profitability and equity value shocks, making them more susceptible to bankruptcy risk. The Author 2011. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The Society for Financial Studies. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com., Oxford University Press.

Are Corporate Default Probabilities Consistent with the Static Tradeoff Theory?

Probability of default plays a central role in the static tradeoff theory of capital structure. We provide a direct test of this theory by regressing the probability of default, measured by S&P credit ratings and Moody’s KMV Expected Default FrequencyTM (EDFTM), on firm characteristics that proxy for the costs of bankruptcy and the tax benefits of debt. Contrary to predictions of the theory, firms with high bankruptcy costs, that is smaller firms and firms with lower asset tangibility, choose capital structures with higher bankruptcy risk. Further analysis suggests that the capital structures of smaller firms with lower asset tangibility, which tend to have less access to capital markets, are more sensitive to negative profitability and equity value shocks, making them more sensitive to bankruptcy risk.