Do firms use the trade credit channel to manage growth?

While many theories of accounts payable and receivable are related to firm performance, there has not been a direct test whether firms actively use them to manage their growth. We argue that it is not just the accounts payable but also the accounts receivable that matter. While the former help to alleviate imperfections in the financial market, the latter do so in the product market. Using over 2.5 million observations for 600.000 firms in 8 euro area countries in the period 1993–2009, we show that firms use the trade credit channel to manage growth. In countries where the trade credit channel is more present, the marginal impact is lower, but the total impact is still higher. Further, firms that are more vulnerable to financial market imperfections, rely more on the trade credit channel to manage growth. Finally, we show that also the overall conditions of the financial market matter for the importance of the trade credit channel for growth.     

Corporate trade credit and inventories: New evidence of a trade-off from accounts payable and receivable

Trade credit is an important source of finance for firms and has been well researched, but the focus has been on financial trade-offs. In this paper, we consider the trade-offs with inventories and develop a simple model that recognizes the incentives a firm faces to offer and receive trade credit. Our model identifies the response of accounts payable and accounts receivable to changes in the cost of inventories, profitability, risk and liquidity, and importantly, this influence operates through a production channel. Our results support the model and complement many existing studies focused on explaining the financial terms of trade credit.     

The Determinants of Corporate Trade Credit Policies in a Bank‐dominated Financial Environment: the Case of Finnish Small Firms

This paper examines trade credit policies of small firms operating in a bank‐dominated environment (Finland). We find that creditworthiness and access to capital markets are important determinants of trade credit extended by sellers. The level of purchases is positively correlated with the level of accounts payable. Larger and older firms and firms with strong internal financing are less likely to use trade credit, whereas firms with a high ratio of current assets to total assets, and firms subject to loan restructurings use it more. Negative loan decisions by financial intermediaries increase and a close bank‐borrower relationship decreases the probability that a firm does not take advantage of trade credit discounts.     

Trade Credit,Future Earnings,and Stock Returns: A Self-Dealing Perspective

Chinese listed firms are characterized by a great magnitude of long-duration accounts receivable from controlling shareholders and their affiliates, and they often do not make bad debt allowances. On many occasions, these receivables are never collected. We find that firms with a great magnitude of accounts receivable demonstrate a low level of future profitability and low stock returns. It does not appear that the low earnings persistence of these firms is responsible for their poor future performance as predicted by the accrual anomaly, because the firms also report low concurrent earnings. In the context of the Chinese stock market, we interpret the results as being consistent with self-dealing through trade credit by controlling shareholders. This study contributes to the self-dealing literature by identifying a more subtle channel of expropriation of minority shareholders in China.     

Trade Credit Terms Offered by Small Firms: Survey Evidence and Empirical Analysis

Trade credit has been shown to be an important source of short-term finance for smaller firms but small firms are also suppliers of trade credit. There is little empirical evidence on the credit granting decisions of small firms. Previous empirical work (Petersen and Rajan, 1997; and Ng, Smith and Smith, 1999) has focused on credit granting and investment in accounts receivable in larger firms. In this paper we look at the influences on credit granting for the smallest firms, using a sample of firms with an average of 10 employees. As in previous studies we find that product and demand characteristics influence credit terms. Moreover, we find evidence that firm size affects credit extension choices directly by setting limits on the possibilities for economies of scale, but it also impacts indirectly by affecting the firm's access to finance and its bargaining strength vis-à-vis suppliers. The dominant position of larger customers in bargaining with small suppliers constrains the impact of other factors on the firm's choice of credit terms. Small firms are also under pressure to conform to industry norms, although lack of resources can be a limiting factor. Constrained firms may make use of two-part terms in an attempt to improve their cashflow.     

Suppliers' listing status and trade credit provision

We show that public suppliers extend more trade credit than their private counterparts. The impact of stock market listing on accounts receivable is more pronounced among firms that are financially more constrained or more reliant on external finance. Moreover, firms significantly increase their trade credit provision following equity issuances in stock exchanges. These results are consistent with the argument that stock market listing status improves firms' access to external sources of financing, especially equity capital, thus enhancing their ability to offer more trade credit to customers.     

商业信用与合作型客户关系的构建——基于提供给大客户应收账款的经验证据

利用我国上市公司前5名应收账款欠款人信息以及前5名大客户信息的披露数据,本文较为直接地考察了企业是否以及如何利用应收账款的产品质量担保功能与大客户构建合作型客户关系。研究结果表明,客户集中度越高,企业提供给大客户的信用政策越宽松,即应收账款金额越多,信用期限越长;进一步研究发现,在与主要客户地理位置相似度较低的企业、处于竞争性行业的企业以及营商环境较好的地区,上述两者之间的正相关关系有所增强。最后,本文发现,在与大客户构建合作型客户关系时,企业向这些大客户提供的应收账款越多,企业的业绩越好。     

The signaling role of trade credit: Evidence from a counterfactual analysis

We quantify the signaling effect of trade credit on bank credit in a sample of US firms. Our identification strategy relies on the signaling model by Biais and Gollier (1997) and accounts for the endogeneity due to the possibility of self-selection and the simultaneity between banks’ and firms’ credit decisions. We find that: (i) firms’ self-select into trade credit; (ii) firms’ decision to use trade credit results in a higher chance of obtaining bank credit and a lower cost than the counterfactual ones they would have faced if not using trade credit.     

A dynamic perspective on the determinants of accounts payable

Companies can use supplier financing as a source of short-term finance. The main objective of this paper is to extend the literature on the determinants of accounts payable and to test whether the accounts payable follow a model of partial adjustment. To do this, we use a sample of 3,589 small and medium sized firms in the UK. Using a dynamic panel data model and employing GMM method of estimation we control for unobservable heterogeneity and for potential endogeneity problems. The results reveal that firms have a target level of accounts payable. In addition, we find that larger firms, with better access to alternative internal and external financing and with a lower cost, use less credit from suppliers. Moreover, firms with higher growth opportunities use more trade credit for financing sales growth.     

Ownership structure and debt maturity: new evidence from Spain

Companies can use supplier financing as a source of short-term finance. The main objective of this paper is to extend the literature on the determinants of accounts payable and to test whether the accounts payable follow a model of partial adjustment. To do this, we use a sample of 3,589 small and medium sized firms in the UK. Using a dynamic panel data model and employing GMM method of estimation we control for unobservable heterogeneity and for potential endogeneity problems. The results reveal that firms have a target level of accounts payable. In addition, we find that larger firms, with better access to alternative internal and external financing and with a lower cost, use less credit from suppliers. Moreover, firms with higher growth opportunities use more trade credit for financing sales growth.     

How Do Firms Choose Between Intermediary and Supplier Finance?

This paper examines firms’ short‐term financing choices between intermediated loans and trade credit. I test two sets of empirical hypotheses: 1) hypotheses concerning the cross‐sectional differences in the level of intermediary finance for firms that use different levels of trade credit and 2) hypotheses concerning the dynamics of trade credit growth. I find strong evidence that for firms with high agency costs, the use of trade credit facilitates access to conventional bank loans. The evidence is consistent with theories based on the signaling role of trade credit provision and suppliers’ liquidation advantage.     

The information content of trade credit

During 1992–2007, suppliers financed almost 10% of the total assets of US listed firms. This intensive usage of trade credit is puzzling in the light of its high (implicit) costs. By arguing that trade credit use provides valuable information to outside investors, we first derive a theoretical model that predicts a positive correlation between trade credit use and the quality of the firm’s investments. Then, using several proxies for firm’s investment quality (Z-score, return on assets, and long-run abnormal returns), we show that this prediction receives strong support from a large sample of US firms.     

Economic policy uncertainty and short-term financing: The case of trade credit

We examine the impact of economic policy uncertainty on trade credit. We document a decline (increase) in accounts payable, receivable, and net credit during periods of high (low) policy uncertainty and that firms react quickly to changes in uncertainty. The relation is long-term and holds after controlling for endogeneity, non-policy economic and political uncertainties, and the Great Recession. Industry competitiveness, proxied by firm market power, moderates the impact of economic policy uncertainty on trade credit. Uncertainty about monetary and fiscal policies, taxes, and regulations are the major drivers of trade credit changes. The reduction in trade credit during periods of increasing uncertainty can be explained by financial distress, constraints, and relation-specific investment channels.     

Trade credit and bank credit: Evidence from recent financial crises

This paper studies the effect of financial crises on trade credit for a sample of 890 firms in six emerging economies. Although the provision of trade credit increases right after a crisis, it contracts in the following months and years. Firms that are financially more vulnerable to crises extend less trade credit to their customers. We argue that the decline in aggregate trade credit ratios is driven by the reduction in the supply of trade credit that follows a bank credit crunch, consistent with the “redistribution view” of trade credit provision, whereby bank credit is redistributed via trade credit from financially stronger firms to weaker firms.     

Do bank bailouts affect the provision of trade credit?

We document that borrowers of banks that received capital support under TARP/CPP significantly increased their quarterly provision of trade credit (accounts receivable) during the crisis by 5.2%, while borrowers of other banks did not. The effect is strongest in 2008Q4, and larger for pre-crisis riskier, growth-oriented and bank-dependent firms and for firms that borrow from pre-crisis smaller, less profitable and better capitalized CPP banks. Our difference-in-differences analysis shows that the effect is caused by CPP and not by heterogeneity between firms, banks and time periods. Our study provides novel evidence that suggests a beneficial multiplier effect of bank bailouts.     

Firms as liquidity providers: Evidence from the 2007–2008 financial crisis

Using a supplier–client matched sample, we study the effect of the 2007–2008 financial crisis on between-firm liquidity provision. Consistent with a causal effect of a negative shock to bank credit, we find that firms with high precrisis liquidity levels increased the trade credit extended to other corporations and subsequently experienced better performance as compared with ex ante cash-poor firms. Trade credit taken by constrained firms increased during this period. These findings are consistent with firms providing liquidity insurance to their clients when bank credit is scarce and offer an important precautionary savings motive for accumulating cash reserves.     

Government contracts and trade credit

This study examines the association between government contracts and firms' use of trade credit. Firms with government contracts may demand less trade credit because of their lower operational risk, higher firm performance, stronger capacity to generate internal funds, and better access to other sources of financing. On the other hand, government contractors could receive more trade credit extensions from suppliers. We examine a sample of U.S. listed firms from 2000 to 2016 and find that firms with government contracts have a lower level of trade credit. We also find that government contractors make quicker payments for trade credit contracts than other firms. Moreover, we provide empirical evidence of government contractors' lower levels of operational risk and higher firm performance, which may enable government contractors to generate adequate internal funds for their operations or to obtain other forms of financing at a lower cost and thus lower their demand for trade credit. Incremental to prior research, our study suggests that having government contracts is one of the factors determining trade credit and firms' financing decisions.     

An Empirical Analysis of the Effect of Financial Distress on Trade Credit

This paper studies the use of supplier's trade credit by firms in financial distress. Trade credit represents a large portion of firms’ short‐term financing and plays an important role in financial distress. We find that firms in financial distress use a significantly larger amount of trade credit to substitute for alternative sources of financing. Firms that are smaller, with less market power, and with more unique products tend to use more trade credit financing when in distress. We also find that firms that significantly increase their trade payables when in financial distress, experience an additional drop of at least 11% in sales and profitability growth over the previously documented 21% average drop for financially troubled firms.     

On the determinants of credit rationing: Firm-level evidence from transition countries

Using survey data for firms from Eastern European transition economies we investigate the determinants of credit rationing. Our rationing definition incorporates firms whose loan application was rejected, but also ‘discouraged’ potential borrowers. We employ a bivariate probit with censoring, approach that accounts for the underlying selectivity since rationed firms are a subset of those without a loan. We include firm-specific attributes related to the alleviation of informational asymmetries, and therefore expected to affect credit rationing. We find that credit rationing depends on firm size, profitability, sales growth, ownership type, legal status, sectoral heterogeneity and the country-specific level of domestic credit.