Loan guarantees and credit supply

The efficiency of federal lending guarantees depends on whether guarantees increase lending supply or simply act as a subsidy to lenders. We use notches in the guarantee rate schedule for Small Business Administration (SBA) loans to estimate the elasticity of bank lending volume to loan guarantees. We show significant bunching in the loan distribution on the side of the size threshold that carries a more generous loan guarantee. The excess mass implies that increasing guarantee generosity by one percentage point of loan principal would increase per-loan lending volume by $19,000. Excess mass increases in periods with guarantee generosity, and placebo results indicate that the effect disappears when the guarantee notch is eliminated.     

Market Value of REIT Liquidity

We examine the relation between firm value and liquidity among REITs. Results show shareholders benefit from both cash and unused credit line capacity. The market values an additional dollar of cash at a premium and, as theory predicts, unused credit lines are significantly less valued than cash. Evidence suggests an increase in the market value of liquidity during the recent financial crisis. We also find that financial characteristics quantifying financial constraint influence the value of REIT financial flexibility. Most notably, the value of cash decreases with remaining credit line capacity. Although prior studies argue that cash and credit lines are substitutes, this is one of the first tests of whether the market prices this substitutability.     

Deposit guarantee evaluation and incentives analysis in a mutual guarantee system

This paper analyzes how the deposit guarantee value affects the risk incentives in a mutual guarantee system. We liken the guarantee’s value to that of a European-style contingent claims portfolio. The main feature emerging from our model is that a mutual guarantee system would give banks an adverse incentive to increase riskiness. To mitigate this incentive, we introduce a regulatory provision modelled using a path-dependent contingent claim. By comparing the mutual guarantee system with a non-mutual one, we show that the former is less expensive, but implies higher adverse incentives for the banks, especially for undercapitalized institutions.     

Liquidity skewness in the London Stock Exchange

We study liquidity on the London Stock Exchange. We find that the average bid-ask spread declines, but that the skewness of the spread increases. These results are robust to firm size, trading volume and price level. Our findings hold when the bid-ask spread is estimated utilising high frequency data. We find that the bid-ask spread prior to earnings announcements dates is significantly higher than that of post earnings announcements, suggesting that asymmetric information has driven the increase in liquidity skewness. We also find that the effect of earnings announcements is more pronounced in the 2007 global financial crisis, consistent with the notion that extreme market downturns amplify asymmetric information. Our overall evidence also implies that increased competition and transparent trading environments limit market makers' abilities to cross-subsidize bid-ask spreads between periods of high and low levels of asymmetric information.     

Banking Competition,Collateral Constraints,and Optimal Monetary Policy

We analyze optimal monetary policy in a model with two distinct financial frictions: monopolistically competitive banks that charge endogenous lending spreads, and collateral constraints. We show that welfare maximization is equivalent to stabilization of four goals: inflation, output gap, the “consumption gap” between borrowers and savers, and a “housing gap” that measures the distortion in the distribution of the collateralizable asset between both groups. Collateral constraints create a trade‐off between stabilization goals. Following both productivity and financial shocks, and relative to strict inflation targeting, the optimal policy implies sharper movements in the policy rate, aimed primarily at reducing fluctuations in asset prices and hence in borrowers' net worth. The policy trade‐offs become amplified as banking competition increases, due to the fall in lending spreads and the resulting increase in borrowers' leverage.     

Understanding Housing Market Volatility

The Campbell–Shiller present value formula implies a factor structure for the price–rent ratio of housing market. Using a dynamic factor model, we decompose the price–rent ratios of 23 major housing markets into a national factor and independent local factors, and we link these factors to the economic fundamentals of the housing markets. We find that a large fraction of housing market volatility is local and that the national factor has become more important than local factors in driving housing market volatility since 1999, consistent with the findings in Del Negro and Otrok (2007). The local volatilities mostly are due to time variations of idiosyncratic housing market risk premia, not local growth. At the aggregate level, the growth and interest rate factors jointly account for less than half of the total variation in the price–rent ratio. The rest is due to the aggregate housing market risk premium and a pricing error. We find evidence that the pricing error is related to money illusion, especially at the onset of the recent housing market bubble. The rapid rise in housing prices prior to the 2008 financial crisis was accompanied by both a large increase in the pricing error and a large decrease in the housing market risk premium.     

The shock of COVID-19 and the shock of rapid vaccine development on the value of senior life settlement contracts

In this paper, we develop a model that can capture how COVID-19 and the subsequent rapid vaccine development against COVID-19 impacts the value of pools of senior life settlements. The pandemic unexpectedly boosted the mortality rates of senior citizens who had prior diagnoses of certain health conditions. Our model accounts for the existence and concentration of these COVID-19 comorbidities in portfolios of senior life settlements. It is the concentration of assets linked to the mortality rates of a group who is at elevated risk to COVID-19 and who is also the primary beneficiaries of the COVID-19 vaccine that we examine. We illustrate how the shock of the pandemic increases the value of senior life settlements and how the accelerated development and distribution of COVID-19 vaccines moderated this increase. Our model is general enough to simulate the impact on other financial contracts that are linked to individual mortality rates. These would include life insurance contracts, annuities, and health insurance policies.     

Firm-specific risk and equity market development

We show that the increase in firm-specific risk in the US stock market is the result of new listings by riskier companies. In addition, our results explain why prior researchers have found that growth opportunities, profit margin, firm size, and industry composition (among other factors) are related to increases in firm-specific risk. The new listing effect is not driven by small companies becoming riskier but instead by a riskier sub-sample of the economy becoming publicly traded. These results are consistent with prior research that documents time trends in financial market development.     

Who benefited from the disclosure mandates of the 1964 Securities Acts Amendments?

The 1964 Securities Acts Amendments extended disclosures mandated of NYSE firms to most firms trading in the Over-the-Counter (OTC) market. Although some prior evidence suggests substantial value increases for OTC firms due to the “value enhancing” mandated disclosures, we find no statistical difference in announcement returns for OTC firms moving to the NYSE before and after the legislation. One purported advantage to investors from the 1964 legislation was increased financial reporting. Yet, we document that the bulk of OTC firms analyzed in prior studies was already providing investors financial information before the legislation. Apparently, investors did not value the mandated disclosures. We do find evidence that the NYSE benefited from the legislation by increasing the number of OTC firms switching to their exchange around its passage.     

The response of Australian firms to AASB 138 disallowing the recognition of internally generated identifiable intangibles

This paper responds to a call by the Australian Accounting Standards Board to investigate how Australian firms responded to a perceived loss of information pursuant to AASB 138 (IAS38) which mandated the de-recognition of previously recognised internally generated identifiable intangibles, from its effective date of 1 January 2005. We find that the sample firms did not choose to provide alternative or substitute disclosure elsewhere in their annual report or financial statements anytime during our sample period (2005–2010). Prima facie, this is surprising given prior evidence from the value relevance literature that disclosures relevant to the value of internally generated intangibles are correlated with firm value and presumably informative for investors. However, we caution against the drawing of simple conclusions that this finding implies alternative disclosure may not be valuable. Rather, it is important to understand the forces or frictions that contribute to this result. Schipper (The Accounting Review, 82, 2007, 301) and Skinner (Accounting and Business Research, 38, 2008, 191) offer valuable insights into the potential issues such as the costs of alternative disclosure including proprietary costs of disclosing competitive information and, the lower credibility of financial disclosures outside of audited financial statements. These are important considerations in the on-going standard-setting debate on recognition versus disclosure of value relevant information on intangible assets.     

Price uncertainty and corporate value

This study examines the sensitivity of equity values of oil producers to changes in the uncertainty of future oil prices. We document that this sensitivity is negatively correlated with a firm's debt ratio and its production costs. These results indicate that companies that are more likely to experience financial distress or underinvestment from low cash flows are adversely affected by increases in the uncertainty of future cash flows. We conclude that corporate risk management can increase shareholder value by reducing the expected costs of financial distress and underinvestment.     

Internal control material weakness disclosure and misstatement duration

Only a small proportion of companies that announce restatements disclose existing internal control material weaknesses (ICMWs) over financial reporting during misstatement periods. Using a sample of 1939 restatements related to misstatements between 2003 and 2015, we find that misstatement duration decreases with the disclosure of ICMWs during misstatement periods. Our results are robust to different samples and different measures of the dependent and test variables. We also find that the number of ICMWs disclosed is negatively related to misstatement duration. The disclosure of both entity-level and process-level ICMWs is associated with misstatements of shorter duration. Moreover, we find that the negative association between ICMW disclosure frequency and misstatement duration is more salient when restatements are intentional. Despite the negative consequences of reporting existing ICMWs found in prior studies, our results suggest that the disclosure of ICMWs can shorten the duration of misstatement periods, leading to more timely improvement in financial reporting. Hence, our evidence provides context and complements prior research suggesting that companies are penalized for disclosing ICMWs.     

An empirical application of the EVA® framework to business cycles

Following financial concepts like duration and economic value added (EVA®) we estimate the impact of interest rate movements on firms that are more and less roundabout. We find that firms that are more roundabout, that is, work with expected cash-flows with higher duration, are more sensitive to interest rate movements. To the extent that monetary policy is able to move the discount rate used by investors, monetary policy changes the relative present value of any investment project and therefore affects resource allocation. We show evidence that this effect is present in the U.S. in the years prior to the subprime crisis.     

The effect of fair disclosure regulation on timeliness and informativeness of earnings announcements

This paper examines the effect of Korea’s fair disclosure regulation on the timeliness and informativeness of earnings announcements. The present regulation for Korean listed firms requires that if a company’s sales revenue, operating income (or loss) and net income (or loss) have changed by over 30% compared to the prior year, the firm must disclose this information through a preliminary financial report (PFR) even before the company is audited by external auditors. To analyze the effects of this policy, we first investigate the timeliness of preliminary financial report disclosures. We examine the extent to which Korean listed companies actually comply with the requirement for prompt notification of information concerning material changes in financial performance. Second, we investigate the informativeness of preliminary financial reports by analyzing differential stock market reactions to different timings of preliminary financial report disclosures. Our empirical results reveal that more than half of our sample firms release their preliminary financial reports after external audits are completed, thereby potentially invalidating the effectiveness of the regulation. In addition, we find that preliminary financial reports have information value only if they are disclosed prior to annual audit report dates. This finding supports the notion that timeliness increases the informativeness of preliminary financial report disclosure by curbing insiders’ ability to potentially profit from their information advantage.     

GMWB for life an analysis of lifelong withdrawal guarantees

In this paper, we analyze the latest guarantee feature in the variable annuities market: guaranteed minimum withdrawal benefits for life (GMWB for life) which are also called guaranteed lifelong withdrawal benefits (GLWB). This option gives the client the right to deduct a certain amount annually from the policy??s account value until death??even if a unit-linked account value drops to zero. We show how such products can be analyzed within a general framework presented in Bauer et al. (ASTIN Bull. 38(2):621?C651, 2008). We price the embedded guarantee for different product designs and parameters under both, deterministic and optimal client behavior.     

Accounting and finance literacy and entrepreneurship: An exploratory study

The aim of this study is to investigate whether the level of financial literacy differs significantly among entrepreneurs in three European countries: Italy, Spain, and the UK. Moreover, I analyze whether financial literacy fosters or hinders entrepreneurial resilience and success. I find that the level of basic financial literacy is significantly lower among entrepreneurs in the UK. I provide an explanation based on job opportunities arguing that basic financial literacy increases the chances of survival of a business, whereas advanced financial literacy decreases it. I propose a taxonomy linking levels of financial literacy with different approaches to financial management. I conclude that a “conservative” approach to financial management (cash based, debt-averse and diversified) is more likely to guarantee survival even if it is not necessarily the best way to maximize firm value.     

The Impact of Asbestos and Environmental Reserves Increases on Shareholder Wealth

Abstract

Between 1992 and 2001 significant reserves increase announcements were made by several major property/liability insurers. These reserves increases were for the purpose of recognizing expected asbestos and environmental (A&E) liability. Although most analysts agree that U.S. insurers are underreserved for asbestos and environmental liability, how the market reacts to an insurer’s announcement of an increase in these reserves has not been analyzed. An insurer that is significantly underreserved is likely to be viewed by the market as lacking financial stability for the long term. However, when a company increases its reserves, there is a charge to income and a reduction in capital. If surplus is diminished sufficiently as a result of the increased reserving, regulatory attention and eroding shareholder and market confidence could result as well. By calculating the sample insurers’ cumulative abnormal returns surrounding the largest asbestos and environmental reserves increase announcements made between 1992 and 2001, the study estimates and documents the market’s reaction to these reserves increase announcements. We further explore the potential impact of additional asbestos and environmental liability exposure reporting requirements. Starting with 1995 statutory annual accounting statements, Footnote 24 required additional reporting by insurers of their asbestos and environmental liability exposure (1995 statements were publicly available by the end of the first quarter of 1996). When looking at reserves increase announcements prior to this additional reporting requirement, we find that most insurers announcing large increases in asbestos and environmental reserves prior to 1996 experience a significant reduction in stock price in the days surrounding their announcement. However, consistent with the notion that the additional accounting disclosure requirements after 1995 (Footnote 24) provide valuable information on insurers’ exposure, we find that the announcement of A&E reserves increases after 1995 had no statistically significant effect on the market value of announcing insurers.     

Korean bank governance reform after the Asian financial crisis

We discuss corporate governance reforms in the Korean banking sector, which include reforms in board composition and executive compensation, implemented after the Asian financial crisis in 1997 and examine the stock market's response to the reforms. We find that the banking returns and volatilities became more Granger-causally prior to both KOSPI and finance sector returns after 1998. The announcements of banking governance reforms are generally associated with significant increases in banking sector stock returns. The KIF survey finds that board governance is considered essential in assessing the value of the firm. The participants in the McKinsey survey indicate that they are willing to pay a premium of 24% on average for firms with outstanding corporate governance systems.     

Changes in the value relevance of accounting information over time: Evidence from the emerging market of China

We investigate the changes in the value relevance of accounting information among Chinese firms over the past two decades, during which accounting reforms are launched to provide decision makers with increased disclosure and higher quality financial information. We also investigate the factors that differentiate firms showing significant value relevance improvement from firms showing little improvement. We find increases in the value relevance of some financial variables and decreases in others, which suggests that accounting numbers help to explain the pricing process of stock shares although at different levels. In addition, we find that value relevance improvements are more pronounced for smaller firms, firms with lower growth rates, and those with greater asset tangibility. We also document that value relevance improvements are generally lower in an exuberant stock market. These results have implications for a variety of information users and policy makers in emerging countries which are reforming their accounting systems.     

Bank competition and corporate financial asset holdings

This paper investigates how bank competition measured by the geographical distribution of bank branches impacts the financial asset holdings of nonfinancial firms. By using a sample of listed nonfinancial firms in China between 2007 and 2019, we find that intensified bank competition caused by the increase in the number of bank branches around firms significantly increases their noncash financial asset holdings, especially for the firms with a higher level of credit constraints or a greater degree of information asymmetry. The result implies that achieving higher yields is the underlying motive for firms to hold noncash financial assets. Moreover, the competition among non-state-owned banks shows a greater impact on corporate financial asset holdings, and the impact of bank competition on noncash financial asset holdings is more pronounced for non-state-owned firms. Our findings provide insight into the determinants of noncash financial asset holdings of firms in a transitional economy.