Laying off credit risk: Loan sales versus credit default swaps

How do markets for debt cash flow rights, with and without accompanying control rights, affect the efficiency of lending? A bank makes a loan, learns if it needs monitoring, and then decides whether to lay off credit risk. The bank can transfer credit risk by either selling the loan or buying a credit default swap (CDS). With a CDS, the originating bank retains the loan's control rights; with loan sales, control rights pass to the loan buyer. Credit risk transfer leads to excessive monitoring of riskier credits and insufficient monitoring of safer credits. Increases in banks' cost of equity capital exacerbate these effects. For riskier credits, loan sales typically dominate CDS but not for safer credits. Once repeated lending and consequent reputation concerns are modeled, although CDSs remain dominated by loan sales for riskier credits, for safer credits they can dominate loan sales, supporting better monitoring (albeit to a limited extent) while allowing efficient risk sharing. Restrictions on the bank's ability to sell the loan expand the range in which CDSs are used and monitoring is too low.     

Banking deregulation and credit risk: Evidence from the EU

This paper studies the effect of banking deregulation on credit risk. Its theoretical model shows that a bank is willing to invest more resources in screening borrowers when there is an entry threat, even though loan rates are driven lower. Thus, deregulation may result in improved loan quality and lower credit risk. This result is tested using bank-level balance sheet data and macroeconomic data for the European Union. The data reveal that competition intensified after the completion of the Second Banking Directive, while loan quality improved in most markets. Evidence is found that the loan quality improvement is associated with lower interest margin.     

论银行业务实践中的授信额度合同

在商业银行业务实践中,授信额度合同尽管尚不属于主流的合同形式,但在银行各个业务领域中均有其适用的案例,在一些范围内甚至被用作主流合同的替代形式。由于没有明确的法律规定界定其涵义,商业实践中也尚未成为一种商业惯例。因此,授信额度合同给银行和客户的权利义务带来了一些不确定的因素。本文从授信额度合同的特征出发,重点讨论了授信额度合同的法律性质,并对审判实践中存在的未约定额度使用期限时授信额度合同的效力、授信额度合同的担保及有关诉讼程序问题,从实务角度进行了分析,并提出了相应观点。     

Tightening credit standards: the role of accounting quality

Over the latest 20 years, the average credit rating of U.S. corporations has trended down. Blume et al. (1998, Journal of Finance, 53, 1389–1413.) attribute this trend to a tightening of credit standards by agencies. We reexamine the observed decreases in credit ratings in several ways. First, we show that this downward trend does not apply to speculative-grade issuers. Second, our analysis of investment-grade issuers suggests that the apparent tightening of standards can be attributed primarily to changes in accounting quality over time. After incorporating changing accounting quality, we find no evidence that rating agencies have tightened their credit standards.

A darker side to decentralized banks: Market power and credit rationing in SME lending

We use loan-level data to study how the organizational structure of banks impacts small business lending. We find that decentralized banks—where branch managers have greater autonomy over lending decisions—give larger loans to small firms and those with “soft information.” However, decentralized banks are also more responsive to their own competitive environment. They are more likely to expand credit when faced with competition but also cherry pick customers and restrict credit when they have market power. This “darker side” to decentralized banks in concentrated markets highlights that the level of local banking competition is key to determining which organizational structure provides better lending terms for small businesses.     

中国委托贷款弥补了正规信贷不足吗？

本文利用手工搜集整理的委托贷款这一独特数据,从正规信贷周期视角切入实证考察我国影子银行运作问题。结果表明,委托贷款这一影子银行机制呈现出鲜明的逆信贷周期特点,当正规信贷收缩时,企业发放委托贷款的概率和规模都显著增加。进一步研究发现:一方面,从企业层面看,与正规信贷宽松时期相比,正规信贷紧缩时民营企业等体制外企业获得委托贷款的概率及规模都显著增加;另一方面,从地区层面看,与正规信贷宽松时期相比,正规信贷紧缩时委托贷款更多流向正规信贷缺口较大的省份。另外,从风险层面看,委托贷款违约概率显著高于同期银行不良贷款率,而且,与国有企业等体制内企业相比,民营企业等体制外企业获得的委托贷款违约概率相对更大。这些结果表明,委托贷款这一影子银行机制是对正规信贷不足的市场反应,正规信贷紧缩促使委托贷款资金流向融资约束较大地区和企业的同时也推高了影子银行风险。本文提供了委托贷款逆信贷周期特点的新鲜证据,有助于厘清影子银行在金融体系中发挥的作用及其风险含义,从而对委托贷款等影子银行监管相关问题提供借鉴。     

Accounting and control in Barclays Bank (DCO): the lending to Africans episode

This paper analyses the accounting, control and operational consequences of a pre-independence experiment by Barclays Bank (DCO) in the British Nigerian colony to liberalize its credit policy towards Africans. This was partly an attempt to develop African business, an area previously neglected by foreign banks. The new policy also appeased Africans who believed that the colonial banks discriminated against them. This experiment resulted in 'alarming' bad debts and led to a reappraisal of the bank's accounting, control and operational procedures. The paper highlights the limitations of internal controls in an era of change.     

Bank ownership,lending, and local economic performance during the 2008–2009 financial crisis

Although government banks are frequently associated with political capture and resource misallocation, they may be well-positioned during times of crisis to provide counter-cyclical support. Following the collapse of Lehman Brothers in September 2008, Brazil׳s government banks substantially increased lending. Localities in Brazil with a high share of government banks received more loans and experienced better employment outcomes relative to localities with a low share of government banks. While increased government bank lending mitigated an economic downturn, we find that this lending was politically targeted, inefficiently allocated, and reduced productivity growth.     

Bank loan loss accounting treatments,credit cycles and crash risk

Banks that follow conditional conservatism in their loan loss accounting treatments benefit from a reduction in crash risk. The key discretionary loan loss accounting channels are provisions and allowances. We show that conditional conservatism reduces crash risk of small banks during periods of credit contraction and boom. Interestingly, for large banks, crash risk is not reduced by more conservative accounting even for those with higher levels of opacity. Hence regulation prompting for more conservative bank loan loss accounting does not present a significant opportunity to limit systemic effects arising from abrupt price declines in the stocks of large banks.     

商业银行信用风险控制在助学贷款中的运用

实行助学贷款是发展教育的一项重要政策,但在实施的过程中却出现了“银行有钱贷不出”和“学生没钱贷不到”的尴尬局面,这引起了人们对这项政策的再思考。通过对产生这种现象的内在原因的分析和对银行和学生二者之间预期效用的比较分析,以及对银行和学生行为选择的分析,认为缺乏有效的抵押担保机制和良好的社会信用体系是导致这种现象的重要原因,最后从制度约束和道德约束两方面思考,减少信息不对称现象,增加学生不还贷成本,降低银行风险,不断完善助学贷款制度。     

Exploring the components of credit risk in credit default swaps

In this paper, we test the influence of various fundamental variables on the pricing of credit default swaps. The theoretical determinants that are important for pricing credit default swaps include the risk-free rate, industry sector, credit rating, and liquidity factors. We suggest a linear regression model containing these different variables, especially focusing on liquidity factors. Unlike bond spreads which have been shown to be inversely related to liquidity (i.e., the greater the liquidity, the lower the spread), there is no a priori reason that the credit default swap spread should exhibit the same relationship. This is due to the economic characteristics of a credit default swap compared to a bond. Our empirical result shows that all the fundamental variables investigated have a significant effect on the credit default swap spread. Moreover, our findings suggest that credit default swaps that trade with greater liquidity have a wider credit default swap spread.     

Loan loss accounting and procyclical bank lending: The role of direct regulatory actions

I provide evidence that loan loss accounting affects procyclical lending through its impact on regulatory actions. Regulators are more likely to place banks with inadequate loan loss allowances under enforcement actions that restrict lending, leading these banks to lend less during downturns. Further, I find that banks with lower regulatory ratings lend less when they have more timely provisions, consistent with research theorizing that timely provisions increase transparency and inhibit regulatory forbearance. This regulatory action mechanism expands on prior research that has focused on the effect of loan loss recognition on regulatory capital adequacy during economic downturns.     

Financial statement recasting and credit risk assessment

This article examines the importance of adjustments to corporate financial statements for credit risk assessment. Prior research has tended to examine individual adjustments one at a time. As correlations among adjustments and control variables may bias inferences when researchers examine a single adjustment and ignore other adjustments, our results provide important new information about previous research by documenting whether or not such bias exists. We find that financial statement recasting adjustments – which aim to better reflect firms' indebtedness, financing costs and recurring earnings than reported financial numbers – are reflected in bond yield spreads and have an economically significant impact on credit pricing and loss forecasting. Among individual adjustment categories, we find that those for off‐balance‐sheet leases, defined benefit pensions and securitized debt have an economically significant impact on credit pricing and loss forecasting.     

The valuation of a firm’s investment opportunities: a reduced form credit risk perspective

This paper develops a valuation model for a firm’s investment opportunities. Given standard market imperfections, we show that maximizing the firm’s equity value is consistent with the need to include a capital charge for an investment specific to a firm’s capital structure and in excess of the investment’s market determined risk. A reduced form credit risk perspective is taken to enable a continuous time implementation. This continuous time implementation is illustrated within the paper.      

银行信贷合同中的利息法律实务问题探讨

本文从实践中的问题出发,以合同法及银行监管规则为基础,以商业银行的市场化发展为趋向,探讨了银行信贷合同中的利息法律问题,以供审判实务参考。     

Credit derivatives and loan pricing

This paper examines the relation between the new markets for credit default swaps (CDS) and banks’ pricing of syndicated loans to US corporates. We find that changes in CDS spreads have a significantly positive coefficient and explain about 25% of subsequent monthly changes in aggregate loan spreads during 2000–2005. Moreover, when compared to traditional explanatory factors, they turn out to be the dominant determinant of loan spreads. In particular, they explain loan rates much better than same rated bonds. This suggests that CDS prices contain, beyond general credit risk, to a substantial extent information relevant for bank lending. We also find that, over time, new information from CDS markets is faster incorporated into loans, but information from other markets is not. Overall, our results indicate that the markets for CDS have gained an important role for banks.     

小企业贷款的信用风险与化解策略

作为小企业间接融资的首选渠道,商业银行在其中扮演着非常重要的角色。然而小企业贷款对于商业银行而言,存在风险高、成本高、效率低、收益低的现象。文章对小企业存在的信用风险进行了分析,并提出了政策建议。     

Credit risk measurement: Developments over the last 20 years

This paper traces developments in the credit risk measurement literature over the last 20 years. The paper is essentially divided into two parts. In the first part the evolution of the literature on the credit-risk measurement of individual loans and portfolios of loans is traced by way of reference to articles appearing in relevant issues of the Journal of Banking and Finance and other publications. In the second part, a new approach built around a mortality risk framework to measuring the risk and returns on loans and bonds is presented. This model is shown to offer some promise in analyzing the risk-return structures of portfolios of credit-risk exposed debt instruments.     

基于突变理论的农户小额信贷信用风险评价方法研究

由于农户小额信贷无需抵押和担保,对其风险的测度和控制愈发重要。本文在建立评价指标体系的基础上,应用突变级数理论和突变系统中三种常用类型,并利用归一化公式对农户信用风险进行了综合评价。最后以陕西省杨凌区农信社提供的15户典型性样本为评价对象进行了实证研究,验证了该方法的客观合理性,为评价农户信用风险提供了一种新的方法。