Debtor-in-possession financing and the resolution of uncertainty in Chapter 11 reorganizations

This paper investigates the use of debtor-in-possession (DIP) financing by firms reorganizing under Chapter 11. A model is developed in which there is asymmetric information between the creditors of a distressed firm and its management. In this context, it is demonstrated that reliance on DIP financing resolves informational asymmetries regarding the true economic value of distressed firms. The model's conclusions are empirically supported in the paper and by results of extant research. The signaling role of DIP financing is evidenced both by the positive stock price reaction to DIP announcements and the fact that firms employing DIP financing have more successful reorganizations.     

A nonlinear wealth transfer from shareholders to creditors around Chapter 11 filing

Past literature has assumed that negative stock returns around Chapter 11 filing are solely due to new adverse information about firm value. This paper argues that there is also a nonlinear wealth transfer from shareholders to creditors causing shareholder loss. The magnitude of the wealth transfer can be quantified in a setting where equity is a call option on firm assets as in the Merton (1974) model. The wealth transfer originates from maturity shortening of the call option as a result of Chapter 11 filing. I present a parsimonious model to explain why Chapter 11 can be voluntarily filed by managers acting in the interest of shareholders with the existence of the wealth transfer. The model-predicted stock return has comparable magnitude as observed stock returns around filing, and explains the cross-sectional variation of the latter.     

Auctions in bankruptcy

This paper examines whether mandatory auctions promote the efficient restructuring of distressed firms relative to a reorganization-based bankruptcy system such as Chapter 11. Under a mandatory auction system, aggressive bidding by a coalition of incumbent management and pre-bankruptcy creditors may deter outside bidders, may result in the coalition paying more than its valuation to acquire the firm, and may result in assets remaining in a lower value use. In a reorganization-based bankruptcy system, management's voluntary choice to seek an auction conveys information about the coalition's valuation, which facilitates competition. Our model shows that a reorganization-based bankruptcy system that encourages, but does not mandate auctions, can actually increase the likelihood that an outside bidder enters and the assets of the bankrupt firm are redeployed.     

Stiffing the creditor: Asset verifiability and bankruptcy

Evidence suggests that asset pledgeability, debt complexity, and control rights of dispersed debt influence financial distress resolution. We model how courts’ imperfect verifiability of assets and valuable control of misaligned creditors shape firms’ debt structure and create coordination problems that determine distress outcomes and financing. A key result is that an increase in verifiability allows financially constrained firms to fund projects by pledging more assets to misaligned creditors, making contract renegotiation in distress times more difficult and increasing the probability of bankruptcy. Since equity receives less in the event of distress, constrained firms choose riskier projects with higher returns. Consistent with our model, bankruptcy filings increase after the U.S. Supreme Court decision imposing a “market test” to assess the value of stockholders’ interest in debtor proposals. The effect is stronger for firms with low asset verifiability. These firms also experienced an increase in recovery rates, debt capacity, and risk-taking. Our findings suggest that reforms improving the verifiability of assets substantially impact credit access. However, our results also point out that improving asset verifiability may be insufficient for constrained firms with aligned creditors. Therefore, complementary reforms that facilitate firms’ access to creditors from different market segments may be necessary.     

Earnings Management in Chapter 11 Bankruptcy

We study the impact of earnings management prior to bankruptcy filing on the passage of firms through Chapter 11. Using data on public US firms, we construct three measures of earnings management: a real activities manipulation measure (abnormal operating cash flows) and two accounting manipulation measures (discretionary accruals and abnormal working capital accruals). We find that, controlling for the impact of factors known to influence earnings management and firm survival in bankruptcy, earnings management prior to bankruptcy significantly reduces the likelihood of Chapter 11 plan confirmation and emergence from Chapter 11. The results are driven primarily by extreme values of earnings management, characterized by one or two standard deviations above or below the mean. The findings are consistent with creditors reacting positively to unduly conservative earnings reports and negatively to overly optimistic earnings reports. We also find that the presence of a Big 4 auditor is associated with a higher incidence of confirmation and switching to a Big 4 auditor before filing increases the incidence of emergence.     

Resolution of financial distress: A theory of the choice between Chapter 11 and workouts

We model the reorganization decision of distressed firms. One of the novel features of our paper is that we examine the asset and liability side restructuring decisions jointly to resolve financial distress. Secondly, we model several institutional features of coping with financial distress such as debtor-in-possession financing, prepackaged bankruptcies, and asset sales. In our model, asset liquidity, indirect costs of financial distress, and the option value of equity are the determinants of the choice between Chapter 11 reorganizations and workouts. The model develops several testable predictions, some of which are novel and others of which are able to explain previously documented empirical results.     

Manager Retention and Post-Bankruptcy Performance: Evidence from South Korea

This study uses a sample of bankrupt firms in South Korea to reexamine the effect of manager retention on a firm’s post-bankruptcy performance, with a particular focus on the attributes of retained managers. Prior studies did not clarify whether a lack of ability of the retained manager or their self-serving behavior contributes more to a firm’s poor post-bankruptcy performance. Our results show that firms that retain their pre-bankruptcy managers are more likely to experience poor post-bankruptcy firm performance than those that replace incumbent managers, possibly because of the lack of ability of the retained managers rather than their self-serving behavior.     

Information, Credit Risk, Lender Specialization and Loan Pricing: Evidence from the DIP Financing Market

We provide an empirical support for theories of lender specialization using the recently developed market for Debtor-in-Possession (DIP) financing. The legal environment in which DIP financing operates represents a natural laboratory for testing determinants of lending specialization (e.g. lender choice). We find that the choice of lender is not driven by credit risk, but by information considerations and that this lending specialization has loan pricing effects. In short, banks (non-bank lenders) lend to more (less) transparent firms and at lower (higher) loan spreads. Our results are consistent with the interpretation that banks provide important and useful services.

Ownership discrimination and private firms financing in China

This study examines the financing/funding of private firms in China. Our results show that private firms are significantly less funded through formal financing channels such as bank loans than state-owned firms, and hence have to resort to alternative financing such as trade credit. Consistent with the theoretical expectation and literature, there is a substitution effect between trade credit and bank loans for private firms, but this effect is much weaker compared to that of state-owned firms. Moreover, while the univariate comparisons indicate that private firms obtain more notes payable than state-owned firms, the multivariate regression analyses show that the relation between bank loan and notes payable is positive and indifferent between private and state-owned firms.     

Surviving Chapter 11 Bankruptcies: Duration and Payoff?

Three of the authors previously developed a model to predict the duration of Chapter 11 bankruptcy and the payoff to shareholders ( Partington et al ., 2001 ). This work augments that study using a much larger sample to re-estimate the model and assess its stability. It also provides an opportunity for out-of-sample testing of predictive accuracy. The resulting models are based on Cox's proportional hazards model and the current article points to the need to test two important assumptions underlying the model. First, that the hazards are proportional and, second, that censoring is independent of the event studied. Using the extended data set, all the previously significant accounting variables drop out of the model and only two covariates of the original model remain significant. These are the market wide credit spread and the market capitalization of the firm, both measured immediately prior to the firm's entry to Chapter 11. Receiver operating characteristic curves are then used to assess the predictive accuracy of the original and extended models. The results show that Lachenbruch tests can provide a misleading indication of predictive ability out of sample. Using the Lachenbruch method of in-sample testing, both models show predictive power, but in a true out-of-sample test they fail dismally. The lessons of this work are relevant to better predicting the gains and losses likely to accrue to shareholders of companies in Chapter 11 bankruptcy and in similar administrative arrangements in other jurisdictions.     

Reporting matters: the real effects of financial reporting on investing and financing decisions

In this paper, I provide an overview of the research on the real effects of financial reporting on investing and financing decisions made by firms. Accounting can improve investment efficiency and affect nearly every aspect of the financing decision by reducing information asymmetry and improving monitoring. However, limitations in the financial reporting system, specifically distinguishing liabilities from equity and determining control for consolidations, result in opportunities to structure transactions to achieve certain financial reporting outcomes. A recent new stream of research documents a link between accounting and macroeconomic indicators, providing evidence that accounting predicts revisions in these indicators. An interesting avenue for future research could be to investigate the link between accounting, investing and financing, and macroeconomic performance.     

关于银行业金融机构破产的相关问题研究

2008年美国次贷危机引发的全球金融危机将世界经济带入了谷底,银行破产问题成为国内外金融界热议的话题,备受瞩目。随着金融创新的不断发展,银行业开放程度的加深以及我国经济转型的深入,银行将面对更加复杂的环境,面临更加严峻的挑战,风险和危机需要重点关注,因此,银行破产问题的重要性愈发凸显。本文拟就银行破产有关问题做简单探讨。     

论破产制度变迁中银行债权的法律保护

银行、企业和政府间的关系一直处于改革变动之中,改革的许多焦点在破产法律制度中得以体现,其间是以转移和牺牲银行利益为代价的.正式破产法基本结束了企业关闭破产的行政程序,在一定程度上有利于银行债权受偿率的提高.但司法实践层面卜银行仍面临担保物权合同制度设计、诉讼方式选择等方面的压力.作为一种司法干预机制,破产申请程序对市场风险具有再分配功能,并对银行自主经营和风险防范提出了更高的要求.     

我国银行业金融机构破产法律制度研究

次贷危机引发的一系列银行倒闭事件引起了公众对银行业金融机构破产的关注。目前,我国的银行破产法律尚属空白。本文结合我国实际,对未来银行业金融机构破产法的诸多方面进行了研究并提出了立法建议。     

商业银行吸收存款能力、发行理财及其经济后果研究

本文分析了商业银行吸收存款能力和发行理财产品的关系及其经济后果。本文发现商业银行吸收存款能力越弱,通过理财产品募集资金越多,理财产品收益率越高。具体来说,非四大国有银行,通过理财产品募集资金越多,理财产品收益率越高;银行的网点数量越少,通过理财产品募集资金越多,理财产品的收益率越高;银行所在地区贷存比越高,通过理财产品募集资金越多,理财产品收益率越高;银行所在地区的金融机构密度越大,通过理财募集资金越多,理财产品收益率越高。进一步研究发现,非保本理财产品加大了银行经营业绩波动,从而增大了银行经营风险。     

Debt Issues around Mergers & Acquisitions

We investigate firms’ debt financing choices among bank loans, public bonds and privately placed debt around mergers and acquisitions (M&As). We find that prior to M&As, firms with above-optimal leverage tend to pursue arm’s-length debt financing in lieu of bank debt. We find that three-day CARs for highly levered firms and acquirer’s long-run performance are negatively associated with non-bank financing. This supports a monitoring avoidance hypothesis for highly levered firms’ non-bank debt financing decisions in M&As. As a falsification test, we do not find the same debt financing considerations of acquirer firms during their post-M&A period.     

Utilisation and restrictiveness of covenants in Australian private debt contracts

This paper investigates the accounting based covenants typically contained in the private debt contracts of listed Australian firms. In particular, cross sectional determinants of variation in covenant utilisation and restrictiveness are investigated. The primary source of data presented in the paper is a questionnaire completed by senior corporate managers of banks lending to listed Australian firms. In addition, standard and actual bank loan agreements are analysed. The survey results indicate that there is considerable cross-sectional variation in the utilisation and restrictiveness of covenants included in Australian private debt contracts, with this variation being partially explained by firm size and industry membership. The covenants most likely to be included are leverage, interest coverage, current, and prior charges ratios.     

美国结构融资市场的变化及启示

美国结构融资市场是其债券市场的重要组成部分。金融危机爆发以来,该市场受到较大的冲击。为此,美国政府出台了一系列措施稳定并规范市场发展,使其逐步恢复了服务于经济复苏的能力。我国的结构融资市场起步较晚,应借鉴美国金融危机的经验和教训,加强市场监管和业务规范,推动市场健康发展,使其更好地服务于货币政策和国民经济。     

我国汽车消费贷款保证保险的绩效分析

发展汽车消费贷款保证保险是保险业积极促进国内汽车消费的一项重要举措.既能间接扩大内需,推动国民经济增长,又能帮助银行管理贷款违约风险.本文通过构建汽车消费贷款保证保险绩效模型,分析得出汽车消费贷款保证保险能间接提高购车人信用等级,并为保险公司寻找新的利润点和融资渠道.最后根据绩效分析有针对性地提出了政策建议.