Defaults of Original Issue High-Yield Convertible Bonds

Recent studies using aging analysis have found high rates of default for rated, nonconvertible high-yield bonds. This paper examines the remainder of the market and concludes that rated and nonrated convertible high-yield bonds had significantly lower default rates. It also provides some evidence that nonrated, nonconvertible securities may have lower default rates. Even after controlling for issue size and coupon rates in a logit model, these differences remain statistically significant.     

Seniority Differentials in High Yield Bonds: Evolution,Valuation, and Ratings

Almost 20 years ago, one of the coauthors of this article published a study that reported finding systematically wider yield spreads on senior corporate bonds than on subordinated bonds with the same credit rating, but issued by different companies. The study also showed that this difference in spreads did not represent a market “anomaly” or failure to price risk correctly, but instead reflected differences in the actual, and hence the expected, loss rates of the securities. And such differences were in turn shown to stem from the practice of the rating agencies—which was abandoned about ten years ago—of rating a given issuer's subordinated debt two “notches” below that of its senior debt. Partly in response to this finding, all of the major agencies modified their use of this “two‐notch” convention by initiating in‐depth fundamental analysis of subordinated issuers on a case‐by‐case basis. In the meantime, the near disappearance of subordinated debt in the high yield market since the global financial crisis and its partial replacement by secured debt has furnished the authors of this article with a seemingly related “anomaly” to explore—namely, the tendency of secured bonds to have higher yields than samerated senior unsecured bonds. As in the earlier study of the senior‐subordinated puzzle, the authors' analysis confirms that the market has been properly pricing the relative risks of the different securities by showing that the actual loss rates of the secured issues have been systematically higher than those of like‐rated senior unsecured issues. The clear suggestion of these findings, as in the case of the earlier study, is that those investors who have chosen to incur the costs of analyzing expected loss rates instead of relying solely on the ratings have been rewarded for their efforts. And if the past is a guide to the future, this article may also succeed in spurring the rating agencies to make further refinements to their methods.     

高收益债券监管的法律问题研究——超越私募和公募界限的制度设计

高收益债采用非公开方式发行,但已不是传统意义上的非公开发行证券,其发行和交易已经具备了某些公开发行证券的特点。因此我国高收益债的监管制度安排必须做出一个超越私募和公募界限的制度设计。其内容包括:对高收益债准入监管发行采用注册制加部分的实质审核;高收益债投资者适当性制度;高收益债转让后持有人数超过200人后的公开发行豁免制度;具有较高透明交易机制的场外交易系统;以债券契约、强制性信息披露和债券受托管理制度为内容的多维度的债权人保护制度。     

发行高新技术企业高收益债券的探讨

发行高新技术企业高收益债券有利于培育和发展战略性新兴产业、解决技术创新融资困境、深化金融改革、丰富科技和金融结合的内涵。目前我国发行高新技术企业高收益债券的条件已经具备,时机已经成熟,建议适时推出。与此同时,我国还需要在发行和交易规则、配套制度建设以及推动形成规范统一的债券市场等方面给予前瞻性关注。     

Financial Distress Costs and Delayed Calls of Convertible Bonds: An Empirical Analysis

Theoretical analysis implies that optimal call policy would be to call the bonds as soon as the conversion value equals the call price. Empirical studies, however, report that firms appear to systematically delay the call and the difference between the conversion value and the call price is large at the time of the call. This study examines convertible bond calls between 1977 and 1993, with a view to explain the large difference between the conversion value and the call-price at the time of the call. A large majority of the firms calling the bonds have cash-flow incentive to call the bonds in that the after-tax interest payments are higher than the dividends on the converted shares. The large difference between the conversion value and the call price is positively related to the risk characteristics of the firm. Evidence seems to support the view that risk aversion and fear of potential financial distress may explain the large difference at the time of call between the conversion value and the call price.     

The Original Maturity of Corporate Bonds: The Influence of Credit Rating,Asset Maturity,Security, and Macroeconomic Conditions

We examine the determinants of the new issue maturity of corporate bonds. As credit rating decreases, new bond issues have longer maturities, but substantial variation in maturity within each rating class remains. We seek to explain the variation of new issue maturity within credit classes. We find that asset maturity, security covenants, and macroeconomic conditions influence the new issue maturity of bonds within rating categories.     

货币发行中买入国债与外汇的不同逻辑含义

买入国债和买入外汇的货币发行都以有价证券为担保,但其经济意义却相去甚远。买入外汇的货币发行能应对我国目前的经济问题,但是,因为采取这种发行方式的计划经济体制已经缺失,继续这种发行方式则会使我国管理层在缓解旧的矛盾的同时,面对新的更为严峻的挑战,所以买入外汇的货币发行方式一定要尽快向买入国债的货币发行方式转变。     

县域发行小微企业集合债可行性探讨

小微企业作为我国经济社会中最基层、最活跃的特殊群体,近年来受到党和政府以及社会各界的广泛关注和高度重视。但由于金融危机对经济实体的冲击,小微企业融资难、生存难的问题日益显现,县域经济发展也因此遇到极大挑战。本文针对当前小微企业融资难现状,研究县域发行小微企业集合债的可行性及所需注意的问题,探索解决小微企业融资难的途径。     

Competing Risks of Mortgage Termination: Who Refinances,Who Moves,and Who Defaults?

The Journal of Real Estate Finance and Economics - Why, when, and who terminates their mortgages? The primary reasons for mortgage termination are refinancing, selling of the property, and default....     

地方政府自主发债的违约风险控制——美国的经验与启示

地方政府债券是地方政府发挥财政功能、推动公共建设的重要融资渠道,地方债券风险防控是维护地方财政可持续发展的关键所在.在分析、借鉴美国市政债券管理经验的基础上,认为我国地方债券存在着总体规模较大、发债期限错配、市场流动性不足、辅助制度不完善等四大风险;当前促进我国地方政府债券发展,需要从控制发债规模、调整期限结构,丰富投资者结构、避免风险集中,把控三大环节、健全运作机制,明确监管主体、加强监管力度等四个方面,建立规范有效的风险防范和分散制度.     

Longevity Bonds: Financial Engineering, Valuation, and Hedging

This article examines the main characteristics of longevity bonds (LBs) and shows that they can take a large variety of forms which can vary enormously in their sensitivities to longevity shocks. We examine different ways of financially engineering LBs and consider problems arising from the dearth of ultra‐long government bonds and the choice of the reference population index. The article also looks at valuation issues in an incomplete markets context and finishes with an examination of how LBs can be used as a risk management tool for hedging longevity risks.     

Calls of Warrants: Timing and Market Reaction

This paper examines the timing of, and reaction to, calls of callable warrants. Three main findings emerge. First, unlike convertible bonds or preferred stock, callable warrants are called almost as soon as possible. Second, there is a negative price reaction of about 3 percent when a call is announced. Finally, at the completion of a call, the stock price rebounds by an average of 7 percent. The total reaction from announcement through completion of the call is a positive excess return of about 4 percent.     

竞争力、市场微观结构与证券交易所变革

纽约证券交易所和纳斯达克实施的重大并购行动标志着全球证券交易所新一轮并购浪潮的兴起,证券交易所之间的竞争再度趋于白热化.交易所之间的竞争已演变为市场微观结构的竞争.本文对纽约证券交易所和纳斯达克的交易成本进行了比较,无论是上市成本还是交易成本,新兴的纳斯达克都比传统的纽约证交所更胜一筹.因而本文认为有效降低交易成本应是提高交易所核心竞争力的关键所在,而改进交易机制、拓展产品服务以及调整组织架构,可以作为降低交易成本、提高交易所竞争力的具体竞争策略.     

Debt Maturity,Credit Risk,and Information Asymmetry: The Case of Municipal Bonds

Using a system of equations approach, this paper empirically tests the impact of credit quality, asset maturity, and other issuer and issue characteristics on the maturity of municipal bonds. We find that under conditions of lower information asymmetry that prevails in the municipal sector, higher‐rated bonds have longer maturities than low‐rated bonds. This result differs from that observed in the corporate sector. Overall, our results support the asset maturity hypothesis. In addition, our analysis finds that fundamentals matter. Issue features that provide additional protection or convenience to the investor tend to increase debt maturity.     

Catastrophe Bonds,Reinsurance, and the Optimal Collateralization of Risk Transfer

Catastrophe bonds feature full collateralization of the underlying risk transfer and thus abandon the reinsurance principle of economizing on collateral through diversification of risk transfer. Our analysis demonstrates that this feature places limits on catastrophe bond penetration, even if the structure possesses frictional cost advantages over reinsurance. However, we also show that catastrophe bonds have important uses when buyers and reinsurers cannot contract over the division of assets in the event of insolvency and, more generally, cannot write contracts with a full menu of state‐contingent payments. In this environment, segregation of collateral—in the form of multiple reinsurance companies, as well as catastrophe bond vehicles—can ameliorate inefficiencies due to reinsurance contracting constraints by improving welfare for those exposed to default risk. Numerical simulation illustrates how catastrophe bonds improve efficiency in market niches with correlated risks, or with uneven exposure of buyers to reinsurer default.     

Tax Shields,Sample-Selection Bias,and the Information Content of Conversion-Forcing Bond Calls

The information content of conversion-forcing bond calls depends on the after-tax cash flow to bondholders. If the dividend after conversion exceeds the after-tax coupon but is less than the before-tax coupon, the call reveals unanticipated decreases in dividends and/or earnings that reduce the tax shield from interest payments. In contrast, a call when the dividend is less than the after-tax coupon reveals the timing of an anticipated shift from exceptional firm-specific positive growth to the industry norm. Efforts to document properties of convertible calls are subject to sample-selection bias because calls are disproportionately associated with positive pre-call firm-specific growth.     

Wealth Distribution, Inflation Tax, and Societal Benefits of Illiquid Bonds

Illiquid nominal government bonds are shown to have two opposing effects on welfare. First, the relatively poor choose to top-up money balances for future consumption by purchasing nominal bonds at a discount. The wealth distribution becomes more centered with a smaller consumption deviation from the first best. Second, the higher inflation tax on monetary wealth to finance interest payments makes money less valuable, so that the quantity of output produced in exchange for money decreases. The trade-off between the welfare-enhancing effect on wealth distribution and the distortionary effect on output implies the socially optimal discount rate and liquidity.     

The Banking Sector,Government Bonds,and Financial Intermediation: The Case of Emerging Market Countries

This paper develops an analytical framework to explore how financial-sector characteristics shape the terms and the scale of public borrowing in emerging market economies. We find that the more competitive the banking sector and the more liquid and deeper the deposit market, the better are conditions in the public securities market. We also show that the greater the central bank independence, the higher the cost of public borrowing. Furthermore, our results suggest that, in countries where banks rely significantly on foreign currency financing, the greater the government's reliance on bank lending, the greater is its exposure to exchange rate risk.