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Review of Financial Studies Vol. 33 No. 12 2020

Pipeline Risk in Leveraged Loan Syndication

Max Bruche1; Frédéric Malherbe2; Ralf R. Meisenzahl3

1 Humboldt University of Berlin · 2 University College London and CEPR · 3 Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago

Abstract

What is the economic role played by arrangers of leveraged loans, and what are the risks they face? We provide evidence that arrangers solve a demand discovery problem. Investors have incentives to feign little interest in the loan to obtain better terms. To deter such behavior, arrangers underprice hot deals and ration investors on cold deals. The risk associated with demand discovery is often shared between borrowers and arrangers. One implication is that to ration investors on cold deals, arrangers retain larger loan shares. This motive for retention is different from the monitoring incentive motive previously considered in the literature.

DOI
10.1093/rfs/hhaa029
Volume
33
Issue
12
Pages
5660-5705
Language
en
Sources
bibtex:phds-export.bib crossref openalex

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