Asset redeployability and trade credit

We examine the relationship between asset redeployability and firms' use of trade credit. Using a large sample of US public firms, we document that firms with more redeployable assets use significantly less trade credit. Our cross-sectional analyses show that the negative relation between asset redeployability and trade credit is more salient for firms with more financing constraints, high levels of information asymmetry, and less corporate liquidity. These findings remain robust to alternative measures of asset redeployability, trade credit, and alternative regression specifications, and they are not driven by an endogeneity problem. Finally, we find that firms with fewer redeployable assets adjust trade credit to the target level relatively quickly when compared with firms having more redeployable assets. Overall, findings from this study provide robust evidence that asset redeployability has an important bearing on firms' short-term financing.     

R&D sensitivity to asset sale proceeds: New evidence on financing constraints and intangible investment

We examine the intersection between corporate divestitures of tangible assets and investment in intangible capital (R&D) to provide new tests for the impact financing constraints have on real activity. A positive R&D sensitivity to asset sale proceeds indicates binding financing constraints since cash inflows from tangible asset sales are negatively correlated with productivity shocks and not otherwise connected to intangible investment via non-financial channels. Using a variety of estimation approaches, we document a strong, positive link between cash inflows from fixed asset sales and corporate R&D investment, but only among firms most likely facing binding financing constraints. These results offer robust evidence that financing frictions impact the increasingly important yet understudied intangible corporate investments that drive innovative activity, and they highlight a previously unexplored but potentially valuable use of proceeds from fixed asset divestitures.     

Debt and managerial rents in a real-options model of the firm

We present a theory of capital investment and debt and equity financing in a real-options model of a public corporation. The theory assumes that managers maximize the present value of their future compensation (managerial rents), subject to constraints imposed by outside shareholders’ property rights to the firm's assets. Absent bankruptcy costs, managers follow an optimal debt policy that generates efficient investment and disinvestment. We show how bankruptcy costs can distort both investment and disinvestment. We also show how managers’ personal wealth constraints can lead to delayed investment and increased reliance on debt financing. Changes in cash flow can cause changes in investment by tightening or loosening the wealth constraints. Firms with weaker investor protection adopt higher debt levels.     

Collateral and capital structure

We develop a dynamic model of investment, capital structure, leasing, and risk management based on firms' need to collateralize promises to pay with tangible assets. Both financing and risk management involve promises to pay subject to collateral constraints. Leasing is strongly collateralized costly financing and permits greater leverage. More constrained firms hedge less and lease more, both cross-sectionally and dynamically. Mature firms suffering adverse cash flow shocks may cut risk management and sell and lease back assets. Persistence of productivity reduces the benefits to hedging low cash flows and can lead firms not to hedge at all.     

Financial Constraints, Asset Tangibility, and Corporate Investment

Pledgeable assets support more borrowing, which allows for furtherinvestment in pledgeable assets. We use this credit multiplierto identify the impact of financing frictions on corporate investment.The multiplier suggests that investment–cash flow sensitivitiesshould be increasing in the tangibility of firms' assets (aproxy for pledgeability), but only if firms are financiallyconstrained. Our empirical results confirm this theoreticalprediction. Our approach is not subject to the Kaplan and Zingales(1997) critique, and sidesteps problems stemming from unobservablevariation in investment opportunities. Thus, our results stronglysuggest that financing frictions affect investment decisions.     

How Do Financing Constraints Affect Firms’ Equity Volatility?

Theory suggests that financing frictions can have significant implications for equity volatility by shaping firms’ exposure to economic risks. This paper provides evidence that an important determinant of higher equity volatility among research and development (R&D)‐intensive firms is fewer financing constraints on firms’ ability to access growth options. I provide evidence for this effect by studying how persistent shocks to the value of firms’ tangible assets (real estate) affect their subsequent equity volatility. The analysis addresses concerns about the identification of these balance sheet effects and shows that these effects are consistent with broader patterns on the equity volatility of R&D‐intensive firms.     

How corporate governance affects payout policy under agency problems and external financing constraints

This paper analyzes the effect of corporate governance on the payout policy when a firm has both agency problems and external financing constraints. We empirically test whether strong corporate governance would lead to higher payout to minimize agency problems (outcome hypothesis), or to lower payout to avoid costly external financing (substitute hypothesis). We find that firms with higher (lower) external financing constraints tend to decrease (increase) payout ratio with an improvement in their corporate governance. The results are consistent with our hypothesis that the relation between payout and corporate governance is reversed depending on the relative sizes of agency and external financing costs.     

信用风险缓释凭证对企业投资行为的影响——基于融资约束中介效应的实证研究

2018年以来,作为债券融资支持工具的信用风险缓释凭证(CRMW)在我国得到了快速发展。本文采用基于倾向得分匹配的双重差分模型(PSM-DID),利用中国企业数据检验了CRMW产品对企业投资行为的影响。结果显示,我国信用风险缓释凭证的发行促进了非上市企业投资,并且这种促进作用对于融资约束较强的企业更为显著。本文还对CRMW产品通过缓解融资约束促进企业投资的渠道进行了检验,结果发现,CRMW产品对企业融资的促进作用主要体现在信贷融资渠道而非债券渠道。本文结论有助于深化对中国当前资本市场中信用风险缓释凭证的作用效果与作用机制的解读,为政策制定者利用该产品解决民营企业融资难、融资贵的问题提供了更充分的决策参考依据。     

构建分工均衡、具有协同效应的金融结构

本文从专业分工、结构均衡以及发挥金融整体协同效应的角度来审视我国金融结构的现状,认为不均衡的专业分工格局和分工后缺乏协作关系,是导致目前金融整体发展状况不佳的重要原因.在对既定金融机构经营特色进行分析的基础上,力求在市场机制的作用下,通过引入一种新的机制将我国的直接融资机构和间接融资机构与各金融市场有机联系起来,从而有效地缓解直接金融资金不足和间接金融资金过剩的问题;在商业银行系统和其他擅长于资产运用的金融机构之间建立一个资产有偿转移的市场,在此思路下重新塑造一个分工均衡、具有协同效应的金融结构.     

What determines the composition of a firm's cash reserves?

We investigate what determines variation in the composition of the financial assets that constitute corporate cash reserves and how this variation relates to other key liquidity management practices. The degree to which a firm invests its cash reserves in less liquid, longer-maturity financial assets that earn a higher yield is explained by financial constraints, the ability to accurately forecast short-term liquidity needs, and the firm's likelihood of defaulting on its debt. During years when a firm's cash reserves are required to fund increases in investment or operating expenses the firm transfers funds from less liquid to more liquid financial assets. A firm's decisions relating to the composition of its cash reserves interacts with other key liquidity management practices, such as relying on credit lines for liquidity, extending trade credit or using it as a source of financing, and holding large amounts of inventories. Our findings provide insights on an important component of corporate liquidity management decisions.     

地域商会有助于缓解企业融资约束吗?——来自A股民营上市企业的证据

破解民营企业的融资困境是事关新时代我国民营经济高质量发展的重要课题。本文以2008-2017年民营上市企业为研究样本,基于民营企业加入地域商会的研究视角,深入考察这一由政府部门核准成立的社会组织能否以及如何帮助企业缓解融资约束。结果发现,加入地域商会后,民营企业的融资约束程度得到了有效缓解。机制检验显示,地域商会有助于扩展会员企业融资所需的社会网络以及提高企业融资时的议价能力;从具体的融资渠道来看,地域商会的作用主要体现为帮助会员企业获得更多的信贷支持和商业信用。进一步地,对于市场议价能力较弱的小规模企业,面临经营困境的企业,以及所在地区的信用环境遭受冲击的企业,或位于市场化程度较低地区的企业而言,加入地域商会的积极影响更为明显。     

商标专用权质押贷款契入茶产业发展的分析

茶叶中小企业融资难,一直是茶产业发展的一大障碍。谋求银行信贷资金支持,除信用、担保贷款外,必须要有自身资产进行抵押、质押。茶叶商标专用权是茶叶企业的自有知识产权,是企业可以运用的无形资产。本文通过分析案例茶叶商标质押贷款,探索分析茶叶质押贷款的路径,并从中分析出茶叶商标贷款的问题和风险,并提出了一些针对性的对策建议。     

绿色金融促进了中国出口贸易发展吗?

金融发展如何影响国际贸易增长一直是贸易领域的重要研究话题。本文以原中国银行业监督管理委员会2012年对外公布的《绿色信贷指引》政策为准自然实验,采用双重差分法对绿色金融与中国出口贸易发展之间的因果关系进行识别。研究显示,绿色金融能够显著促进中国出口贸易发展,改善出口贸易的集约边际和扩展边际,优化出口贸易的量价结构;绿色金融带来的出口促进作用,就不同的样本分类存在异质性。渠道研究发现,绿色金融能够通过缓解出口方面临的融资约束水平,进而对出口贸易产生积极作用。稳健性检验表明,在考虑双重差分法设定条件、安慰剂检验、极端值影响、零贸易问题等后,绿色金融对出口贸易的积极作用依然成立。本文研究证实了绿色金融是影响中国出口增长的重要因素,绿色金融政策能够带来生态环境改善和出口贸易发展的双赢局面,这为中国近年来大力推进绿色金融体系构建提供了来自现实层面的有效证据。     

企业金融资产配置与融资约束的缓解机制:基于流动性管理的分析

企业进行金融资产配置,一方面能够为企业提供流动性,缓解融资约束;另一方面也因投机动机而占用企业流动性资源,加剧融资约束,对实体投资造成挤压。这是形成企业金融化的"投资挤出效应"和"蓄水池效应"两种现象并存的内在机制。为衡量这种内在机制,本文使用2007—2018年我国上市公司样本,对金融资产配置的流动性管理效应展开分析。结果显示:非金融企业的金融收益会推动超额现金的持有,通过超额现金的中介效应引致了融资约束程度的缓解;而企业持有金融资产行为则产生相反的效应。进一步研究发现,在典型的公司治理机制中,无论是外部股东的投票机制,还是来自内部的代理成本与高管持股机制,都在一定程度上推动了金融资产配置产生的流动性效应。     

The collateral channel: Evidence on leverage and asset tangibility

We examine how asset structure is related to leverage in different institutional environments, using tens of thousands of firm-level observations from small, privately held, emerging market firms that are likely to face financing constraints. Our empirical analysis indicates that the linkage between asset tangibility (fixed assets as a portion of total assets) and leverage (measured as long-term debt over total assets) varies, such that in countries with fewer restrictions on collateral (land transferability), the relationship between these variables is much tighter. This also applies to the linkage between tangibility and debt maturity structure (measured as long-term debt over total debt). We find no evidence that industry concentration in different countries or changing composition of firms over time is driving our findings. The results are robust to using firm-level fixed effects specifications, to clustering error terms at the country level, and to using an alternative proxy for collateral law regime.     

Size of Financing Need and the Choice between Asset Sales and Security Issuances

We study the effect of the size of financing need on a firm's choice between selling assets and issuing securities to finance its investments. The balance sheet effect predicts that a firm prefers to sell assets when the financing need is relatively small as there is less information asymmetry regarding the value of a (small) subset of its assets. When the financing need is large, a firm prefers issuing securities to selling assets. We find evidence supporting the prediction. Our findings remain unchanged when we employ measures of financing need that are relatively independent of the actual amount of financing raised.     

International diversification and Microfinance

International commercial banks, institutional investors, and private investors have become increasingly interested in financing microfinance institutions (MFIs). This paper investigates whether adding microfinance funds to a portfolio of risky international assets yields diversification gains. By using mean-variance spanning tests with short-sale constraints, we find that investing in microfinance may be attractive for investors seeking a better risk-return profile. Specifically, the analysis suggests that investing in MFIs from Latin America, or microfinance and rural banks yields more efficient portfolios. In contrast, adding MFIs from Africa or microfinance NGOs to a portfolio of international assets is not beneficial for a mean-variance investor.     

How do firms finance their investments?: The relative importance of equity issuance and debt contracting costs

This paper examines the financing decisions of firms in response to changes in investments and profits. We find that information frictions play important roles in firms' financing decisions. However, we find no evidence that asymmetric information about the value of a firm's assets causes equity to be used only as a last resort. Indeed equity is the predominant source of finance in situations, such as profit shortfalls, investment in intangible assets, and internally generated growth opportunities, where informational asymmetries and agency costs are likely to be high. We also find that firms respond asymmetrically to positive and negative profit shocks. In financing fixed assets, high asymmetric information firms use more short-term debt and less long-term debt, whereas firms with high potential agency problems use significantly more equity and less long-term debt and cash.     

Bank Relationships and Firms' Financial Performance: The Italian Experience

We examine the connection between the number of bank relationships and firms' performance using a unique data set on Italian small firms for which banks are a major source of financing. Our evidence indicates that return on equity and return on assets decrease as the number of bank relationships increases with a stronger effect on small firms than large firms. We also find that interest expense over assets increases as the number of relationships increases. Particularly for small firms, these results are consistent with analyses suggesting that fewer bank relationships reduce information asymmetries and agency problems and outweigh hold‐up problems.     

Credit channel,trade credit channel,and inventory investment: Evidence from a panel of UK firms

In this paper, we use a panel of 609 UK firms over the period 1980–2000 to test for the existence of a trade credit channel of transmission of monetary policy, and for whether this channel plays an offsetting effect on the traditional credit channel. We estimate error-correction inventory investment equations augmented with the coverage ratio and the trade credit to assets ratio, differentiating the effects of the latter variables across firms more or less likely to face financing constraints, and firms making a high or low use of trade credit. Our results suggest that both the credit and the trade credit channels operate in the UK, and that the latter channel tends to weaken the former.