Knowledge that Transforms

We find that bond issues have substantially increased since the onset of the COVID-19 crisis in calendar week 12 (March 16-20) for bonds rated A or higher, but surprisingly also for bonds rated BBB or lower. In contrast to existing evidence on bond maturities in economic downturns, we document that maturities exceed those of bonds issued before by the same firms as well as the average maturities during normal times. Determinants of corporate bond spreads substantially differ between COVID-19 and normal times. Most prominently, asset tangibility has a highly significant negative effect on spreads during normal times. During COVID-19, this is reversed, especially in industries heavily affected by lockdown measures, reflecting the inflexibility associated with fixed assets. A different picture emerges for equity issues, which slowed considerably during the first 4 weeks of the pandemic, before accelerating again. Capital raised during COVID-19 via equity issues is approximately 5% of capital raised via bond issues.

In March 2020, banks faced the largest increase in liquidity demands ever observed. Firms drew funds on a massive scale from preexisting credit lines in anticipation of cash flow and financial disruptions stemming from the advent of the COVID-19 crisis. The increase in liquidity demands was concentrated at the largest banks, who serve the largest firms. Precrisis financial condition did not constrain large banks’ liquidity supply. Coincident inflows of funds from both the Federal Reserve’s liquidity injection programs and depositors, along with strong preshock bank capital, explain why banks were able to accommodate these liquidity demands. (JEL G21, G28) Received June 7, 2020; editorial decision June 23, 2020 by Editor Isil Erel.

The COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent lockdown brought about an exogenous and unparalleled stock market crash. The crisis thus provides a unique opportunity to test theories of environmental and social (ES) policies. This paper shows that stocks with higher ES ratings have significantly higher returns, lower return volatility, and higher operating profit margins during the first quarter of 2020. ES firms with higher advertising expenditures experience higher stock returns, and stocks held by more ES-oriented investors experience less return volatility during the crash. This paper highlights the importance of customer and investor loyalty to the resiliency of ES stocks. (JEL G12, G32, M14) Received: June 3, 2020; editorial decision June 24, 2020 by Editor Andrew Ellul.

We study competitive effects of foreign listings on U.S. stock exchanges over a 50-year period and show that U.S. rival firms respond strongly negatively (weakly positively) to foreign listings (delistings). The performance decline of U.S. firms is related to the competitive advantages that foreign firms receive from their cross-listings, such as stronger financial benefits, higher growth prospects, and better visibility, rather than market or industry valuation timing or existing market competition. This decline is especially pronounced when cross-listings come from proximate or developed markets. Our findings highlight an important role of international markets in influencing the performance of U.S. firms. Received February 19, 2019; editorial decision September 18, 2019 by Editor Isil Erel.

We employ a representative sample of 80,972 Italian firms to forecast the drop in profits and the equity shortfall triggered by the COVID-19 lockdown. A 3-month lockdown generates an aggregate yearly drop in profits of about 10% of GDP, and 17% of sample firms, which employ 8.8% of the sample's employees, become financially distressed. Distress is more frequent for small and medium-sized enterprises, for firms with high pre-COVID-19 leverage, and for firms belonging to the Manufacturing and Wholesale Trading sectors. Listed companies are less likely to enter distress, whereas the correlation between distress rates and family firm ownership is unclear.

This paper examines the impact of promotion-based tournament incentives on corporate acquisition performance. Measuring tournament incentives as the compensation ratio between the CEO and other senior executives, we show that acquirers with greater tournament incentives experience lower announcement returns. Further analysis shows that the negative effect is driven by the risk-seeking behavior of senior executives induced by tournament incentives. Our results are robust to alternative identification strategies. Our evidence highlights that senior executives, in addition to the CEO, play an influential role in acquisition decisions. (JEL G30, G34, G41, J31, J33, J62) Received: November 5, 2018; editorial decision January 6, 2020 by Editor Isil Erel.

The 2020 COVID-19 crisis can spur research on firms' corporate finance decisions and their macroeconomic implications, similar to the wave of important research on banking and household finance triggered by the 2008 financial crisis. What are the relevant corporate finance mechanisms in this crisis? Modeling dynamics and timing considerations are likely important, as is integrating corporate financing considerations into modern quantifiable macroeconomics models. Recent empirical work, including articles in this special issue, on the drag from debt in the COVID-19 crisis provides a first glimpse into the new research agenda.

Using unique internal bank data on ex ante appraised liquidation and market values of assets pledged as collateral in sixteen countries, we show that laws and institutions that strengthen creditor protection increase expected recovery rates for collateral. Stronger creditor protection increases expected recovery rates for movable collateral relative to immovable collateral and shifts the composition of collateral toward movable assets, thereby increasing debt capacity through both higher loan-to-values and attenuating the creditor’s liquidation bias. Our results suggest that the recovery rate for collateral is an important first-stage mechanism through which creditor protection can improve contracting efficiency and enhance access to credit. Received September 17, 2018; editorial decision July 9, 2019 by Editor Andrew Ellul.

Data on firm-loan-level daily credit line drawdowns in the United States expose a corporate “dash for cash” induced by the COVID-19 pandemic. In the first phase of the crisis, which was characterized by extreme precaution and heightened aggregate risk, all firms drew down bank credit lines and raised cash levels. In the second phase, which followed the adoption of stabilization policies, only the highest-rated firms switched to capital markets to raise cash. Consistent with the risk of becoming a fallen angel, the lowest-quality BBB-rated firms behaved more similarly to non-investment grade firms. The observed corporate behavior reveals the significant impact of credit risk on corporate cash holdings. (JEL G01, G14, G32, G35) Received July 13, 2020; editorial decision July 17, 2020 by Editor Andrew Ellul

The COVID-19 pandemic can be considered the third major shock to have hit the United States and the global economy in the first two decades of this century. First, we experienced the September 11, 2001, terror attacks, then the 2008-2009 Financial Crisis, and now the COVID-19 pandemic. Each of these crises confronted the global economy, and the financial system in particular, with different challenges, with the COVID-19 crisis likely to be the worst. According to the World Bank (2020), the global economy is expected to shrink by 5.2% this year, representing the deepest global recession since the Second World War.