Role Of Covenants Research Articles

Old Testament Imaginaries of the Nation in German, Dutch, and Anglo-American Protestant Political Thought

Abstract This issue draws attention to the importance of Old Testament scholarship to conceptions of nationhood in Protestant political thought. Inclusive of biblical studies, history, theology, and political thought, this issue discusses hermeneutical as well as political tensions that are inherent to the reception of the Old Testament within political theology. These tensions primarily concerned the role of covenant, reason and the natural order, spilling into what would be recognized today as supersessionism, antisemitism and in some cases, even racism. Within that, it remains important to distinguish political contexts as the historical role of Protestant traditions and their current significance to right-wing uses of biblical imaginaries of the nation differs between Germany, the Netherlands as well as Anglo-American countries.

The Anatomy of Collateralized Loan Obligations: On the Origins of Covenants and Contract Design

This paper provides a dissection of the Collateralized Loan Obligation (CLO) market and examines the significance of covenants in facilitating the provision of credit. Since the Great Financial Crisis of 2008, the leveraged loan market has witnessed unprecedented growth. CLOs play an increasingly central role in the provision of credit to corporations, holding as much as 75% of all new institutional leveraged loans, as reported in 2019. The rise of the leveraged loan and CLO markets have attracted the attention of central banks which have been concerned with both the growth of the market and the opaque nature of interconnections between intermediaries, leveraged borrowers, and investors. Despite their increasing importance, little is understood about CLO intermediaries. In this paper, I describe the agency frictions inherent in the CLO market, and discuss how optimal contracts are derived with covenants that curtail such frictions. In addition, I describe the general macroeconomic milieu that has facilitated the rapid growth of the CLO market as well as recent changes that have developed. Understanding the structural aspects and dynamics of CLOs intermediaries, situated between investors and loan syndicates, is paramount for analysis of the innards of the market, the role of covenants, and developing insights into the shadow banking sector as well as other securitizations.

The role of covenants in bond issue. The case of Russian companies

This study examines the use and determinants of covenants in public debt issued by Russian companies. Based on issue characteristics and firm characteristics, we investigate the likelihood that the inclusion of covenant clauses in financial contracts is positively related to the riskiness of bond issues. Using a hand-collected database of Russian firms that place bonds in both the domestic and Eurobond markets, we provide evidence that Russian bondholders use covenant protection to compensate for different creditor protections when the firm has Eurobonds in its debt portfolio. We also find a general negative relation between covenant protection and the bond's yield.

Biblical Theology

Biblical Theology Christopher T. Begg, David A. Leiter, Paul L. Redditt, and John Thomas Willis 547. Uwe Becker, "Neue Einsichten und Konzepte zur christologischen Deutung des Alten Testaments," KD 62 (2016) 95-114. B.'s paper discusses modern christological interpretations of the OT. After a short review of the emphasis on the witness of the OT to Christ by W. Vischer and K. Barth in the mid-20th century, B. focuses on various, more recent approaches that might be designated as contemporary christological perspectives on the OT (the canonical approach, concepts of "Biblical Theology" or new spiritual readings). The paper concludes with some general remarks on how the OT as a "pre-Christian" book might function as the biblical text for the preaching of the gospel. [Adapted from published abstract—C.T.B.] [End Page 147] 548. J. Lanier Burns, "The Biblical Use of Marriage to Illustrate Covenantal Relationships," BS 173 (2016) 273-96. B.'s article explores the theme of marriage in the Bible with two foci in mind: theological method for use with biblical audiences, and Scripture's use of itself to progressively develop a unified, Christ-centered message with marriage as a foundational paradigm in order that biblical audiences understand truth. B.'s investigation begins with prophetic texts, which, though negative, clearly explicate Israel's idolatry with covenantal marriage in the background. Thereafter, B. looks back at creation for marital ideals "from the beginning." Finally, he discusses the marriage/adultery metaphor in Revelation 17–21 with a view to showing that the paradigmatic marriage theme extends from Genesis through Revelation. [Adapted from published abstract—C.T.B.] 549. M. Daniel Carroll R. (Rodas), "Old Testament Law, Then and Now: Cultural Boundaries and Moral Identity—Engaging Christopher Wright's Paradigm Approach," Kairós 58-59 (2016) 37-59. Christopher J. H. Wright's paradigm proposal for the appropriation of OT Law for the modern world can be enhanced and broadened by way of a critical incorporation of the insights of cultural anthropology and the use of John Rogerson's contributions to the field as a theoretical framework. [Adapted from published abstract—C.T.B.] 550. [Genesis; Sirach] Jeremy Corley, "Divine Creation and Human Morality from Genesis to Ben Sira," ITQ 81 (2016) 343-61. Several Second Temple texts undertook to harmonize the differences between the P creation story in Genesis 1 and the J creation narrative in Genesis 2–3. Ben Sira (Sirach), e.g., makes selective use of both creation stories, especially when referring to human mortality. While Sir 25:24 seems to suggest that sin and death entered the world through Eve, Sir 17:1-2 appears to pass over the primeval sin and instead to regard human mortality as a natural disposition of the Creator who providentially allots humanity a fixed number of days of earthly life. In this interpretation, which is similar to various other interpretations of Genesis 3 in early Judaism and Christianity that emphasize human mortality as deriving from the primeval sin, Ben Sira does nonetheless echo the primeval punishment of humanity (Gen 3:19) by using the verb "return" in Sir 17:1. Having done this, Ben Sira in 17:2 proceeds to follow Jewish sapiential reflection (esp. Psalm 90) and Stoic teaching in presenting death as something natural within God's providential plan. [Adapted from published abstract—C.T.B.] 551. Kyle C. Dunham, "Yahweh War and Ḥerem: The Role of Covenant, Land, and Purity in the Conquest of Canaan," DBSJ 21 (2016) 7-30. D.'s overview of the broad contours of the ḥerem practice demonstrates that the practice had a key place in Israel's conquest of Canaan. Tied as it was to covenanted land purity, the practice was integral to the occupation of the land, but then became obsolete following the conquest. Ḥerem was enacted by Israel as a way of affirming God's exclusive holiness and sovereign right to inhabit and bequeath the sacred land of his dwelling place in accordance with his character and promises. The enactment of ḥerem further underscored God's sovereignty and justice. God has sovereign right over life, and Israel...

Syndicated Loans: The Role of Covenants in Mitigating Lender Disagreements

We study the role of covenants in syndicated bank loans. We argue that, in addition to being a device for monitoring the borrower, covenants can help mitigate conflicts of interest between the lead-arranger and participating banks in the syndicate. Such disagreements can arise when, for instance, a lead-arranger has the incentive to support a poorly performing borrower and offer loan modification – while other syndicate lenders do not. We develop a simple model and find empirical support for its predictions that covenants are less likely to be present: (i) in non-syndicated versus syndicated loans; (ii) when the lead's loan allocation is greater and (iii) when participating bank affiliates hold substantial equity in the borrower. Consistent with this evidence, we find that lead arrangers are more likely to syndicate with banks that hold borrower equity through affiliated entities.

The Role of Covenants in Mitigating Conflicts of Interest Within Lending Syndicates

We study the role of covenants in syndicated bank loans. We argue that, in addition to being a device for monitoring the borrower, covenants can help mitigate conflicts of interest between the lead arranger and participating banks in the syndicate. Such disagreements can arise when, for instance, a lead arranger has the incentive to support a poorly performing borrower and/or offer loan modifications while other syndicate lenders may prefer to discipline the borrower by accelerating the loan or enforcing default. We develop a simple model reflecting such conflicts and find empirical support for its predictions that covenants are less likely to be present: (i) in non-syndicated versus syndicated loans; (ii) when the lead's loan allocation is greater; and (iii) when participating bank affiliates hold substantial equity in the borrower. Consistent with this evidence, we find that lead arrangers are more likely to syndicate with banks that hold borrower's equity through affiliated entities.

The Impact of Corporate Governance on Covenant Use in Private Debt Contracts

This thesis examines the association between corporate governance and the restrictiveness of covenants used in private debt contracts in the U.S. Both corporate governance and covenants have been shown to play a role in mitigating agency problems associated with debt. A complementary relationship may be expected between these two monitoring mechanisms but it is unclear whether corporate governance has any influence on the way covenants are used to mitigate debtholder-shareholder conflicts. Using an agency framework, this thesis argues that debtholders will consider a firm’s corporate governance when estimating its potential agency costs. The central hypothesis is that, ceteris paribus, firms with stronger corporate governance will be perceived by debtholders to be less likely to engage in ex-post opportunistic activities that will expropriate wealth and reduce the value of the claims, thereby reducing the need to use particularly restrictive covenants. The strength of corporate governance will be measured using both a governance index/score as well as firm specific characteristics such as board independence and board expertise. Several measures of covenants restrictiveness will be employed including the number of covenants, a covenant-intensity-index, a covenant slack and contract-specific accounting measurement requirements such as the use of fixed or rolling GAAP. This thesis also explores the relation between corporate governance and performance pricing, a contractual feature that is often included, in addition to covenants, in private debt contracts. Given that performance pricing helps address deterioration in a firm’s future credit quality by directly linking ex-ante pricing of debt with the firm’s ex-post performance, the expectation is it complements the role of covenants, particularly in cases where covenants are less restrictive. Accordingly, it is hypothesised that, ceteris paribus, performance pricing is more likely to be included in the debt contracts of firms with stronger corporate governance. Some preliminary results will be presented at the symposium.

The Role of Covenants in Public and Private Debt

Covenants are particular clauses in debt contracts of firms that restrict business policy, giving creditors the possibility of putting precise actions into force - normally early repayment - when the covenants are violated. We refer to the Agency Theory of Covenant (ATC), which assumes that as long as the offsetting benefits exceeds the costs of the constraints imposed by the covenants, the lender will include covenants in their debt contracts. The goal of this paper is to provide a theoretical model that explains the empirical findings of research on public (bonds) and private (bank loans) debt, by highlighting the role of coordination costs among debtholders. Our study introduces two innovative aspects to the existing literature: (1) an emphasis on the covenant violation costs, and (2) the formalisation of a market equilibrium approach. In particular, we formalise the renegotiation costs of the lender, and we identify the effect of the degree of coordination on the renegotiation costs and, ultimately, on the efficiencies in the use of covenants. With regard to, the second point, as far as we know, our paper is the first to present an equilibrium market model for two types of debt contracts with covenant. For the first type, we consider a firm issuing a bond with covenant in the primary market, whereas in the second the firm borrows a syndicated bank loan with covenant. In both models we (1) find that there is a minimum coordination level which guarantees the covenant efficiency, and we (2) identify the optimal covenant threshold.

Job and the Disruption of Identity: Reading Beyond Barth (review)

Job and the Disruption of Identity: Reading Beyond Barth, by Susannah Ticciati. London/New York: TT he discovers his singular individuality (and the pain that accompanies it); he confronts the alterity that defines both his own person and God Godself. Most importantly, in the Whirlwind Speeches, Job learns that the law is subsequent to God's gratuitous act of creation-[God's] election of Job 'for naught' (p. 111). In part three, sticking close to the original Hebrew, Ticciari identifies Job as a prophetic figure engaged in a legal debate with God. This identification once more shows the adequacy of integrity as an interpretive category, for Job discovers himself as elect. Finally, Ticciati returns to the theological issues of part one. Rejecting again Earth's (putative) tendency to dichotomize the and the eschatological, Ticciati commends Job as descriptive of a human life in the process of being transformed. In the disruption of his identity by God, Job beholds his own singularity and election; he realizes that self is the process of its probing (p. 167); he understands that he lives in medias res, encompassed by the and the eschatological, by the human and the divine. This discussion allows Ticciati to gesture towards a historical ontology (pp. 170ff) that discerns ongoing transformation as basic to human being, creation as a whole, and the divine life itself. Although the nuances of this text cannot be adequately considered in a brief review (I will, in particular, defer comment on Ticciati's handling of the Hebrew and her perhaps controversial emphasis on the role of covenant in Job), there is no doubt as to its importance. On one level, categories such as disruption, integrity, and election illumine the enigmatic world of Job. …