Syndicated Loan Market Research Articles

The U.S. Syndicated Loan Market: Matching Data

The U.S. Syndicated Loan Market: Matching Data

Do Adverse Oil Price Shocks Change Loan Contract Terms for Energy Firms?

This article examined whether the relationship between creditworthiness and loan spreads for energy firms in the syndicated loan market changed after the 2014 oil-price shock. {{p}} The authors use syndicated loans, which are jointly funded by several financial institutions, because the syndicated loan market is a major source of debt financing for oil firms. Credit conditions tightened following the oil-price shock in mid-2014.

Social networks in the global banking sector

We show that banks with shared social connections partner more often in the global syndicated loan market and that central banks in the network play dominant roles in various interbank transactions, indicating that social connections facilitate business connections. However, more centralized banks in the network also contribute significantly to the global systemic risk. Moreover, we find the soft information generated by social networks is particularly valuable when potential partners operate under different accounting and regulatory standards. Finally, we show that the recent banking crisis significantly limited the positive soft information effects of social networks in the global banking system.

The Real Effects of Stress Testing in a Financial Crisis: Evidence from the SCAP

I use the introduction of supervisory stress testing of large U.S. banks as a quasi-experiment to examine the compositional effect of macroprudential policy on the real economy. Following the 2009 round of U.S. bank stress tests (SCAP), tested banks altered their lending behavior in the syndicated loan market at the extensive margin. Firms that borrowed from tested banks in the syndicated loan market experienced larger reductions in tested bank shares in loan syndicates after the SCAP. On the whole, non-tested financial institutions offset these reductions in risk, smoothing shocks to firm borrowing and mitigating effects on firm real outcomes. Speculative grade firms faced tighter credit conditions as a consequence of the SCAP. My results imply that a 1 standard deviation increase in speculative grade firm exposure corresponded with an 8 pp lower probability of receiving a positive modification of an existing loan, a 3 pp decrease in fixed investment, and a 7 pp decrease in employment growth after the SCAP. In contrast, investment grade firms reliant on tested banks fully substituted reductions in tested bank risk by borrowing from foreign banks and subsequently expanded intangible investment. Firms accessing the syndicated loan market for the first time and firms with short lending relationships faced steeper reductions in borrowing and real outcomes.

Credit Market Spillovers: Evidence from a Syndicated Loan Market Network

A large theoretical literature emphasizes financial networks, but empirical studies remain scarce. We exploit the overlapping bank portfolio structure of syndicated loans to construct a financial network and characterize quantitatively its evolution over time. We use the network to estimate a spatial autoregressive model, an appropriate econometric method to test theoretical network models. We provide evidence of economically large spillovers in loan rates from peers' decisions during normal times, but the spillovers vanish in a large recession. These findings are consistent with learning externality models, where reliance on private signals rises during recessions. Simulations illustrate the implications of estimated spillovers.

A foreign currency effect in the syndicated loan market of emerging economies

This paper documents and explains the empirical finding that syndicated loans denominated in a foreign currency are charged a lower loan spread relative to those denominated in the local currency in many emerging economies (henceforth referred to as the “foreign currency effect). This finding is both economically and statistically significant, and remains even upon controlling for various fixed effects, the endogenous choice of currency, the adjustment of the forward exchange rate to the loan spreads, and lending relationships. We show that the foreign currency effect tends to be stronger when banks from advanced economies are lending in their home currency, loans are syndicated in more mature markets, the capital account openness of the borrower’s country is lower, and financial institutions within the borrower’s country are not well capitalized. In addition, the foreign currency effect was more pronounced during the financial crisis and its aftermath, likely a result from the spillover effect of accommodative monetary measures and higher counterparty risk. In terms of policy implication, although cheaper foreign currency syndicated loans allow corporations in emerging economies to access credit at a desirable cost, over-borrowing in foreign currency nonetheless increases the overall financial fragility of these countries.

Spillovers of the United States’ Unconventional Monetary Policy to Emerging Asia: The Bank Lending Channel

ABSTRACTThis article assesses the spillover effects of the United States’ unconventional monetary policy (i.e., quantitative easing programs adopted during 2008–2014) on the Asian credit market. Focusing on cross-border bank lending, we employed firm-level loan data with regard to the syndicated loan market and measured the international bank lending channel through changes in the United States dollar-denominated loans extended to Asian borrowers. We found that the growth of dollar credit in Asia increased substantially in response to the quantitative easing in the US financial market. The results of this study confirm the existence of the bank lending channel in Asia and emphasize the role of credit flows in transmitting financial conditions. The article also provides new evidence of cross-border liquidity spillover in the syndicated loan market. We found that the overall spillover effect was large but differed significantly in Asia by types of borrowing firms, financing purposes, and loan terms at different stages of the quantitative easing programs.

Institutional Investors and Loan Dynamics: Evidence from Loan Renegotiations

We examine the probability of exit for different types of investors in the syndicated loan market, as well as how the entry and exit of different types of investors is associated with changes in loan characteristics. Nonbanks, particularly CLOs, closed-end funds, and mutual funds, are more likely than bank lenders to exit the syndicate rather than to participate in the renegotiated loan. For mutual funds, greater net fund outflows imply a greater likelihood of exit, and this finding is consistent with nonbank lending creating greater systemic risk (Stein, 2013). For most nonbanks, the likelihood of an exit increases if the financial condition of the borrower improves and the potential for higher spreads wanes. Controlling for borrower risk, the addition of most nonbank institutions, in contrast to banks, is accompanied by an increase in loan spreads, but no significant increase in the number or tightness of covenants.

Are Professional Investment Managers Skilled? Evidence from Syndicated Loan Portfolios

Theory predicts that individual investor’s incentives to uncover new information about asset values are low if asset prices are efficient. This, in turn, implies that heterogeneity in investment manager skill, if present, should be most clearly visible among managers that focus on asset classes with less informationally efficient prices. We investigate this argument using a large sample of syndicated bank loan portfolios managed by collateralized loan obligation (CLO) managers. Using a CLO’s equity tranche cash-on-cash return to measure performance, we find strong persistence that is robust to an extensive set of risk controls. Although investors seem to derive their expectation about management quality from a manager’s realized performance and allocate more capital to “skilled” managers, top performers cope to stay ahead of net-of-fees. This questions the rationality of managers and the efficiency of the syndicated loan market. This paper was accepted by Wei Jiang, finance.

The Role of Bankers in the U.S. Syndicated Loan Market

I construct a novel dataset of individual bankers in the U.S. syndicated loan market to analyze the impact of bankers for the largest, most transparent borrowers. I exploit within-firm variation in personal relationship strength from banker turnover and find that stronger relationships lead to significantly lower interest rates. Relationship loans are associated with fewer bankruptcies and fewer favorable modifications in renegotiations. Lower rates therefore derive from increased lending efficiency, rather than nepotism. While personal relationships generally increase credit availability, during the financial crisis these relationships locked in borrowers with affected banks. Bankers also exhibit time-invariant preferences for specific loan characteristics.

Identifying the Risk-Taking Channel of Monetary Transmission and the Connection to Economic Activity

I use loan-level data from the syndicated loan market in the U.S. to investigate how monetary policy affects banks' sensitivity to risk. Using loan-level data and banks' sensitivity to risk enables me to identify the risk-taking channel and disentangle it from other monetary channels. I show that banks change their behavior toward risk following changes in monetary policy where loose monetary policy reduces banks' sensitivity to risk. I then provide evidence for the significant contribution of risk-taking shocks and changes in banks' risk-taking behavior to economic outcomes and business cycle fluctuations. The paper's primary contribution is in providing new loan-level evidence for the existence of the risk-taking channel in the U.S., as well as a first possible link between the risk-taking channel and business cycle fluctuations.

Bank Branching Deregulation and the Syndicated Loan Market

How do changes in banking regulation affect the syndicated loan market? Because branch networks and loan syndication both facilitate banks’ ability to diversify geographical credit risk, we focus on the Riegle-Neal Interstate Branching and Banking Efficiency Act of 1994. We investigate its staggered state-wise implementation in a triple-difference identification strategy, exploiting the fact that it only changed the legal framework for out-of-state commercial banks. We find that branching deregulation decreased syndicated loan issuance but spurred bilateral lending to corporations. This shift is also reflected in interest rate spreads, pointing to a supply-driven substitution effect. Our results suggest that changes to banking regulation can affect not just the amount but also type of credit in the economy.

Corporate social responsibility, credit rating, and private debt contracting: new evidence from syndicated loan market

We examine the impact of corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities on loan spreads of syndicated bank loans, with a particular interest in how CSR and credit ratings are interrelated as a joint determinant of loan spreads. Focusing on private debt contracts, we show that both CSR strengths and concerns are related to their loan spreads. CSR strengths work to lower firm risk, hence reducing the loan spread, whereas CSR concerns increase firm risk, thus increasing the loan spread. Once we include detailed credit rating information in the models, however, CSR concerns lose significance, but CSR strengths remain significantly related to the loan spread. We also find that both CSR strengths and CSR concerns are related to loan spread for non-rated firms, but the CSR concern effect is stronger than the CSR strength effect for these firms. A further test shows that firm risk measured by stock return volatility plays as a direct channel through which a firm’s CSR activities affect loan spreads, whose result lends further support to our main results. Overall, our results provide strong evidence that CSR matters to the pricing of loan contracts beyond credit rating information and the results remain robust to the possible firm size effect and the endogeneity issues.

Corporate Social Responsibility, Credit Rating, and Private Debt Contracting: New Evidence from Syndicated Loan Market

We examine the impact of corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities on loan spreads of syndicated bank loans, with a particular interest in how CSR and credit ratings are interrelated as a joint determinant of loan spreads. Focusing on private debt contracts, we show that both CSR strengths and concerns are related to their loan spreads. CSR strengths work to lower firm risk, hence reducing the loan spread, whereas CSR concerns increase firm risk, thus increasing the loan spread. Once we include detailed credit rating information in the models, however, CSR concerns lose significance, but CSR strengths remain significantly related to the loan spread. We also find that both CSR strengths and CSR concerns are related to loan spread for non-rated firms, but the CSR concern effect is stronger than the CSR strength effect for these firms. A further test shows that firm risk measured by stock return volatility plays as a direct channel through which a firm’s CSR activities affect loan spreads, whose result lends further support to our main results. Overall, our results provide strong evidence that CSR matters to the pricing of loan contracts beyond credit rating information and the results remain robust to the possible firm size effect and the endogeneity issues.

The impact of sovereign rating changes on European syndicated loan spreads: The role of the rating-based regulation

We analyze the impact of sovereign rating changes on European corporate loan spreads. We demonstrate that sovereign downgrades lead to significant increases in the spread of loans to domestic firms. We find evidence that the negative effects of a sovereign downgrade are widespread across all firms, also unrated, which are the majority of firms in the European syndicated loan market. A relevant part of this impact depends on the reliance of financial regulation on credit ratings (certification effect), which reduces also loan size and leads to additional burdens for investment grade firms. Instead, we do not find evidence of a significant impact generated by an upgrade. Our results hold also controlling for the sovereign risk, crisis periods, lender characteristics, and endogeneity of loan contract terms.

JOBS Act Spillover Effects in the Syndicated Loan Market

The JOBS Act directly affects access to public equity for emerging growth companies (EGCs) by lowering regulatory requirements to conduct initial public offerings (IPOs). Indirectly, improved access to equity markets may alter how other capital providers engage with EGC firms, which may further accelerate EGC firm growth, regardless of and prior to IPO. Using regression discontinuity, we find syndicated loans to EGCs have lower credit spreads, less collateral, larger revolvers, and greater bank participation. These results suggest the JOBS Act not only has a direct effect via IPO access, but also indirectly enhances EGCs’ access to the syndicated loan market.

Foreign banks and international transmission of monetary policy: Evidence from the syndicated loan market

This paper examines how the sensitivity of cross-border syndicated loan supply varies with the internationalization of borrower country banking sectors, banks and loan syndicates. A higher foreign bank presence in borrower countries mitigates the transmission of monetary policy. Prior lending experience of international banks in borrower countries also attenuates monetary transmission. In contrast, to the extent they become more international, the credit supply of banks and loan syndicates becomes more sensitive to lender-country monetary policy.

Bank Branching Deregulation and the Syndicated Loan Market

Bank Branching Deregulation and the Syndicated Loan Market

Risk Taking and Interest Rates: Evidence from Decades in the Global Syndicated Loan Market

We study how low interest rates in the United States affect risk taking in the market for cross-border corporate loans. Because banks tend to originate these loans with intent to sell to nonbank investors, we examine risk taking by the broad financial system. To the extent that actions of the Federal Reserve affect U.S. interest rates, our analysis provides evidence of cross-border spillover effects of U.S. monetary policy and highlights the global lending and risk-taking channels. We find that movements in the U.S. interest rates have an important effect on ex-ante credit risk of cross-border corporate loans, though the channels are different in the pre- and post-crisis periods. Before the crisis, banks made ex-ante riskier loans to non-U.S. borrowers in response to a decline in U.S. short-term interest rates, and, after it, banks and nonbanks originated such loans in response to a decline in U.S. longer- term interest rates. Economic uncertainty, risk appetite, and the U.S. dollar exchange rate appear to play a limited role in explaining ex-ante credit risk. Our results highlight the potential policy challenges faced by central banks in affecting credit risk cycles in their own jurisdictions.

Risk Taking and Interest Rates: Evidence from Decades in the Global Syndicated Loan Market

We study how low interest rates in the United States affect risk taking in the market of crossborder leveraged corporate loans. To the extent that actions of the Federal Reserve affect U.S. interest rates, our analysis provides evidence of a cross-border spillover effect of monetary policy. We find that before the crisis, lenders made ex-ante riskier loans to non- U.S. borrowers in response to a decline in short-term U.S. interest rates, and, after it, in response to a decline in longer-term U.S. interest rates. Economic uncertainty and risk appetite appear to play a limited role in explaining ex-ante credit risk. Our results highlight the potential policy challenges faced by central banks in affecting credit risk cycles in their own jurisdictions.