Journal of Corporate Finance Vol. 67 2021
Institutional investment horizons, corporate governance, and credit ratings: International evidence
Abstract
Using a comprehensive set of firms from 57 countries over the 2000–2016 period, we examine the relation between institutional investor horizons and firm-level credit ratings. Controlling for firm- and country-specific factors, as well as for firm fixed effects, we find that larger long-term (short-term) institutional ownership is associated with higher (lower) credit ratings. This finding is robust to sample composition, alternative estimation methods, and endogeneity concerns. Long-term institutional ownership affects ratings more during times of higher expropriation risk, for firms with weaker internal corporate governance, and for those in countries with lower-quality institutional environments. Additional analysis shows that long-term investors facilitate access to debt markets for firms facing severe agency problems. These findings suggest that, unlike their short-term counterparts, long-term investors improve a firm's credit risk profile through effective monitoring.
- DOI
- 10.1016/j.jcorpfin.2020.101874
- Volume
- 67
- Pages
- 101874
- Language
- en
- Sources
- bibtex:phds-export.bib openalex crossref