The Bankruptcy Decision and Debt Contract Renegotiations

We consider the bankruptcy law and workout practices in the United States and model bankruptcy as a strategic decision. We analyze a firm's choice between liquidation under Chapter 7, renegotiation of the debt contract in a workout, and reorganization under Chapter 11 of the bankruptcy code. Our premise is that a financially distressed firm chooses its action in order to minimize the loss in value caused by the well-known over- and under-investment problems. We show that the firm initiates a workout when it faces under-investment, and commences Chapter 11 when it faces over-investment. Some of the results are: (i) in default, total firm value and equity value increase upon the announcement of a workout and decrease upon the announcement of Chapter 11; (ii) firms with shorter maturity of debt are more likely to reorganize in a workout; (iii) among the firms that renegotiate their debt contract, the proportion of firms entering Chapter 11 is higher for firms in mature industries than for firms in growth industries.     

The Decision to Repurchase Debt

The authors examined the market reaction to announcements of 208 corporate offers to repurchase outstanding debt during the period 1989–1996. In most tender offers, debtholders receive either a fixed price or a fixed spread over a benchmark Treasury security, or a range of prices based on a Dutch Auction. In most cases, management cites as its main motive the desire to reduce leverage and/or interest expense. But such tender offers are also often—in fact, in 70% of cases—accompanied by consent payments intended to induce bondholders to vote to remove covenant restrictions. The authors found that tender offers are wealth‐increasing events, with positive average market reactions of almost 1.5%. But the means of funding has a major impact on the market reaction. Whereas tender offers financed with equity receive a neutral market response, those offers financed with the proceeds from asset sales are associated with equity announcement returns of 3.8%. What's more, shareholders respond positively to the removal of covenants, especially asset sale covenants, with abnormal returns averaging 11% in such cases. Before their offers, companies that tender for their debt tend to have less cash and more long‐term debt than comparable companies, and to have lower operating returns and to trade at a discount to their peers. But after the tender offer, assets increase, operating returns improve, and the tendering firms trade at a premium.     

Determinants of the Consumer Bankruptcy Decision

Qualitative choice models of consumers' decisions to file for bankruptcy and their choice of bankruptcy chapter are estimated jointly, combining choice-based sampling techniques with a nested estimation procedure. Medical and credit card debt are found to be the strongest contributors to bankruptcy, with homeownership playing an important role with respect to both the decision to declare bankruptcy and the choice of bankruptcy alternative. The potential effects of legal changes relating to property exemptions and dischargeable debt categories are found to encourage debt repayment through Chapter 13.     

The Effect of Bankruptcy Laws on the Valuation of Risky Consumer Debt

In a market setting with perfect information, a consumer recognizes that he can influence the state-contingent returns, and hence the pric, of his risky debt by the decision variables that determine the collateral and promised payments. This paper examines the effect of bankruptcy laws on the feasible consumption opportunities of borrowers and lenders in order to determine the necessary requirements for the bilateral debt market to be perfectly competitive.     

法制环境、管理者能力与企业债务契约

本文从管理者能力的视角出发,选取2010-2018年沪、深A股上市公司为样本,实证分析了管理者能力对债务契约的影响及其影响路径。研究证明:管理者能力越强,企业的债务期限结构越短、债务融资成本越低。进一步研究发现,在不同的法制环境中,二者的关系存在异质性,即管理者能力对债务期限结构、债务融资成本的影响在法制环境较高的地区较为显著。本文丰富了企业债务契约的影响因素,探寻了管理者能力影响债务期限结构、债务融资成本的路径。     

会计信息可比性与债务契约定价研究

以2008-2019年A股上市公司为样本,基于风险溢价视角,运用普通最小二乘法(OLS)实证考察会计信息可比性对债务契约定价的影响效应.结果表明:可比性具有债务契约冲突的协调功能,金融机构对高会计信息可比性予以正面评价,倾向于为高会计信息可比性企业提供长期债务融资,且高会计信息可比性有助于降低企业债务融资成本.机制检验表明,资本市场能够识别企业的盈余管理行为,盈余管理与财务风险在会计信息可比性对债务契约定价的影响中发挥中介效应.进一步研究发现,高质量审计会弱化会计信息可比性对债务契约定价的影响效应.     

美国破产法金融合约例外条款评析

美国破产法传统上给予若干金融合约以程度不等的破产安全港保护。2005年《破产改革法》显著扩展了安全港的覆盖范围，尤其是在金融衍生产品领域，实质上由“特定保护”演变为“市场保护”。在金融合约的辨识和判定方面，破产改革法强化了业界惯例和市场实践的作用，压缩了法院自由裁量的空间。相比以前，金融合约安全港的界线更为清晰。     

会计准则改革、会计利润信息与银行债务契约

本文考察了新、旧准则下合并报表净利润对银行信贷决策有用性的变化,以及新、旧准则下合并—母公司净利润差异对银行信贷决策有用性的变化。研究发现,合并报表净利润是银行信贷决策的重要依据,新准则下合并报表净利润与债务契约的相关性减弱,且公允价值变动损益高的公司更明显。论文还发现,新准则实施后,合并—母公司净利润差异与企业获得银行借款的相关性减弱,说明新准则下的合并母公司净利润差异为银行信贷决策提供了新的信息含量。     

信息传递成本和预测能力不足对信贷契约的影响

信息传递成本和预测能力不足是影响信贷融资交易成本的主要因素。二者直接影响信贷融资具体方式的选择和融资过程的治理。治理这些问题的机制通常在利好情况下能够约束借款人恪守诚信,但是在利空情况下会导致低效率。能够缓解信息不对称和契约不完全问题的其他方式包括签订自我履行的信贷契约、构建关系性融资、提高契约法规的执法力度、营造诚信的商业环境和规范企业财务信息披露。     

Sovereign Debt: Optimal Contract,Underinvestment, and Forgiveness

In this paper we develop a time consistent rational expectations model which analyzes the equilibrium loan contract between a borrowing country and a foreign bank. The loan contract specifies both the amount of the loan and the promised interest payments, and rationally reflects the investment decisions of the country and the possibilities of renegotiation and repudiation of the debt. An important feature of the model is that at the initial negotiation of the loan there is uncertainty about whether the country will renegotiate for partial forgiveness in the future, and whether it will eventually repudiate the debt, even having successfully renegotiated. Moreover, the probabilities of renegotiation and repudiation, and the amount of possible forgiveness are endogenously determined. In the model the repudiation decision is directly related to the underinvestment problem; the objective of the renegotiation is precisely to alleviate this problem. The model is used to analyze the effects of four variables on both the optimal contract and the country's welfare: the degree of penalties that a bank can impose on a defaulting country, the uncertainty of production, the productivity of investments and the riskless interest rate. The analysis has policy implications as well as testable predictions.     

台湾《消费者债务清理条例》评析及对大陆出台个人破产制度的展望

随着中国大陆地区社会主义市场经济体制的确立和深化,无论是在法律制度的设计上还是广大群众的观念接受程度,都需要一定的磨合期,再加上城乡二元结构的差异,使得中国大陆在个人破产制度的推动上难度较大。本文尝试借鉴台湾经验,期望对未来中国大陆个人破产制度的增修作一比较参考,使整体市场退出机制更加完善。     

金融发展环境、利率市场化与债务融资决策

采用稳健OLS回归方法对利率市场化与债务融资决策关系进行研究显示,较之国有企业,民营企业债务融资决策受利率市场化影响长期借款比例显著降低;较之利率管制时期,在利率市场化时期处于金融环境较好地区企业无论是债务融资成本还是长期借款比例均显著降低;此外,在利率市场化时期企业的长期借款比例与债务融资成本受地区金融发展环境差异的影响减弱。这说明利率市场化改革起到了赋予金融机构竞争手段、改善金融竞争环境以及削弱地区金融环境差异的政策效应。     

中国民营上市公司债务融资破产威胁功效的实证研究

以2002～2007年陷入财务危机的民营上市公司（ST公司）为研究样本．通过相关分析实证检验了中国债务融资的破产威胁功效.研究发现,中国民营上市公司债务融资总体上对财务状况恶劣的公司起到了债务治理作用,发挥了破产威胁功效。短期债务能够对陷入财务危机的民营上市公司起到改善业绩的作用,较好地发挥破产威胁功效,而长期债务未能发挥破产威胁作用。银行贷款能够促进陷入财务困境的民营上市公司改善业绩,发挥破产威胁功效,而商业信用却没能发挥破产威胁功效。     

破产企业治理结构与破产会计信息质量监控

本文以新破产法 (草案) 的基本框架为依托, 将破产企业分为破产和解企业、破产重整企业和破产清算企业三类, 探讨了不同类型破产企业的治理结构及其会计信息的特点, 提出了明确破产会计信息质量的监控目标、建立全面的破产会计制度规范、构建完整的破产会计信息质量监控体系、提高破产相关人员的综合素质等监控破产会计信息质量的基本思路。     

The Relationship between Bankruptcy Model Predictions and Stock Market Perceptions of Bankruptcy

This study uses a cumulative sum technique to determine the point at which the stock market first perceives that a firm may file for bankruptcy. The study then attempts to identify information, whether from financial statements or from other sources, that may have influenced the market in its reassessment of the firm's prospects. The results indicate that the switching point of the mean and variance of stock returns appears to be related both to financial statement information (as measured by changes in bankruptcy model probability assessments) and the release of unfavorable news in the Wall Street Journal.     

Factors Affecting the Probability of Bankruptcy: A Managerial Decision Based Approach

The majority of classification models developed have used a pool of financial ratios combined with statistical variable selection techniques to maximize the accuracy of the classifier constructed. Rather than follow this approach, this article seeks to provide an explicit economic basis for the selection of variables for inclusion in bankruptcy models. This search to develop an economic theory of bankruptcy augments the existing bankruptcy prediction literature. Variables which occur in bankruptcy probability expressions derived from the solution of a stochastic optimizing model of firm behaviour are 'proxied' by variables constructed from financial statement data. The random nature of the lifetime of a single firm provides the rationale for the use of duration or hazard-based statistical methods in the validation of the derived bankruptcy probability expressions. Results of the validation exercise confirm that the majority of variables included in the empirical hazard formulation behave in a way that is consistent with the model of the firm. The results highlight the need for developments in the measurement of earnings dispersion.     

Debt Agreements for Consumers under Bankruptcy Law in Australia and Developing International Principles and Standards for Personal Insolvency

The debt agreement option under bankruptcy law was introduced in Australia in 1996. Since its introduction, it has undergone significant review, and two sets of amendments have been crafted to meet issues as they have been raised. Its popularity is reflected in the increasing proportion of debt agreements compared with the other two debt relief options available under bankruptcy legislation, bankruptcy and the personal insolvency agreement. A review of the debt agreement scheme has recently been undertaken, but the government has yet to respond to its recommendations. Meanwhile, the work of comparative bankruptcy scholars has found new impetus from the treatment of consumer debtors during the Global Financial Crisis. At the same time, at the international level, there is growing interest in developing general principles for the treatment of personal insolvency, despite the acknowledged diversity of approach to personal insolvency at the national level. This paper examines the debt agreement framework and how it fits within the comparative bankruptcy literature and the developing international principles for the treatment of personal insolvency. Copyright © 2014 INSOL International and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd