Market-implied Ratings and Their Divergence from Credit Ratings
Iftekhar Hasan, Winnie P. H. Poon, Jianfu Shen, Gaiyan Zhang
Journal of Financial Research,
No. 2,
2023
Abstract
In this article, we investigate the divergence between credit ratings (CRs) and Moody's market-implied ratings (MIRs). Our evidence shows that rating gaps provide incremental information to the market regarding issuers' default risk over CRs alone in the short horizon and outperform CRs over extended horizons. The predictive ability of rating gaps is greater for more opaque and volatile issuers. Such predictability was more pronounced during the 2008 financial crisis but weakened in the post-Dodd-Frank Act period. This finding is consistent with credit rating agencies' efforts to improve their performance when facing regulatory pressure. Moreover, our analysis identifies rating-gap signals that do (do not) lead to subsequent Moody's actions to place issuers on negative outlook and watchlists. We find that negative signals from MIR gaps have a real economic impact on issuers' fundamentals such as profitability, leverage, investment, and default risk, thus supporting the recovery-efforts hypothesis.
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People Job Market Candidates Doctoral Students PhD Representatives Alumni Supervisors Lecturers Coordinators Job Market Candidates Tommaso Bighelli Job market paper: "The…
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Research Profiles of the IWH Departments All doctoral students are allocated to one of the four research departments (Financial Markets – Laws, Regulations and Factor Markets –…
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Long-run Competitive Spillovers of the Credit Crunch
William McShane
IWH Discussion Papers,
No. 10,
2023
Abstract
Competition in the U.S. appears to have declined. One contributing factor may have been heterogeneity in the availability of credit during the financial crisis. I examine the impact of product market peer credit constraints on long-run competitive outcomes and behavior among non-financial firms. I use measures of lender exposure to the financial crisis to create a plausibly exogenous instrument for product market credit availability. I find that credit constraints of product market peers positively predict growth in sales, market share, profitability, and markups. This is consistent with the notion that firms gained at the expense of their credit constrained peers. The relationship is robust to accounting for other sources of inter-firm spillovers, namely credit access of technology network and supply chain peers. Further, I find evidence of strategic investment, i.e. the idea that firms increase investment in response to peer credit constraints to commit to deter entry mobility. This behavior may explain why temporary heterogeneity in the availability of credit appears to have resulted in a persistent redistribution of output across firms.
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Short-Selling Threats and Bank Risk-Taking: Evidence from the Financial Crisis
Dien Giau Bui, Iftekhar Hasan, Chih-Yung Lin, Hong Thoa Nguyen
Journal of Banking and Finance,
May
2023
Abstract
The focus of this paper is whether the Securities and Exchange Commission's Regulation SHO strengthens or weakens the effect of short-selling threats on banks’ risk-taking. The evidence shows that pilot banks with looser constraints on short-selling increased their risk-taking during the financial crisis of 2007–2009. The reason is that short-selling threats improved the information environment and mitigated the agency problems of banks during the pilot program that led to greater risk-taking by pilot banks. Additionally, this effect is mainly driven by pilot banks with poor corporate governance, or high information asymmetry. Overall, our paper provides novel evidence that the disciplinary role of short-sellers had a positive effect on bank risk-taking during the financial crisis.
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Konjunktur aktuell: Gasspeicher voll – Konjunkturaussichten weniger trüb
Konjunktur aktuell,
No. 1,
2023
Abstract
Im Frühjahr 2023 wirken gegenläufige Kräfte auf die Weltwirtschaft: Das Ende des Corona-Lockdowns in China gibt vor allem dem asiatischen Raum einen Schub, doch die anhaltend hohe Inflation belastet die fortgeschrittenen Volkswirtschaften weltweit. Alles in allem bleibt die internationale Konjunktur 2023 schwach. Für die deutsche Wirtschaft blieb der vielfach erwartete deutliche Einbruch aus, denn die Gasversorgungslage hat sich zunächst stabilisiert. Dennoch dürfte die Konjunktur wegen der Energiekosten, hoher Inflation, gestiegener Realzinsen und rückläufiger Realeinkommen schwach bleiben. Das Bruttoinlandsprodukt dürfte im Jahr 2023 um lediglich 0,4% zulegen, und die Inflationsrate bleibt mit 5,8% hoch.
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COVID-19 Pandemic and Global Corporate CDS Spreads
Iftekhar Hasan, Miriam Marra, Thomas Y. To, Eliza Wu, Gaiyan Zhang
Journal of Banking and Finance,
February
2023
Abstract
We examine the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the credit risk of companies around the world. We find that increased infection rates affect firms more adversely as reflected by the wider increase in their credit default swap (CDS) spreads if they are larger, more leveraged, closer to default, have worse governance and more limited stakeholder engagement, and operate in more highly exposed industries. We observe that country-level determinants such as GDP, political stability, foreign direct investment, and commitment to crisis management (income support, health and lockdown policies) also affect the sensitivity of CDS spreads to COVID-19 infection rates. A negative amplification effect exists for firms with high default probability in countries with fiscal constraints. A direct comparison between global CDS and stock markets reveals that the CDS market prices in a distinct set of corporate traits and government policies in pandemic times.
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Corporate Culture and Firm Value: Evidence from Crisis
Yiwei Fang, Franco Fiordelisi, Iftekhar Hasan, Woon Sau Leung, Gabriel Wong
Journal of Banking and Finance,
January
2023
Abstract
Based on the Competing Values Framework (CVF), we score 10-K text to measure company culture in four types (collaborative, controlling, competitive, and creative) and examine its role in firm stability. We find that firms with higher controlling culture fared significantly better during the 2008–09 crisis. Firms with stronger controlling culture experienced fewer layoffs, less negative asset growth, greater debt issuance, and increased access to credit-line facilities during the crisis. The positive effect of the controlling culture is stronger among the financially-constrained firms. Overall, the controlling culture improves firm stability through greater support from capital providers.
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20.12.2022 • 31/2022
No deep recession despite energy crisis and rise in interest rates
High energy prices and deteriorating financial conditions are weighing on the German economy. However, the period of weakness over the winter is likely to be moderate, partly because the energy price brakes are supporting private incomes. The Halle Institute for Economic Research (IWH) forecasts that due to the recovery from the pandemic in the first three quarters, gross domestic product (GDP) is estimated to have increased by 1.8% in 2022. Due to high energy prices, however, GDP will slightly decline in the winter months and stagnate on average in 2023. Inflation will fall from 7.8% in 2022 to 6.5% in 2023.
Oliver Holtemöller
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Konjunktur aktuell: Keine tiefe Rezession trotz Energiekrise und Zinsanstieg
Konjunktur aktuell,
No. 4,
2022
Abstract
Der Ausblick auf die internationale Konjunktur 2023 ist verschattet: Die Energieversorgung Europas ist ungewiss, die Leitzinsen steigen weiter, der Pandemieausbruch in China führt zu Produktionsausfällen. Belastungen für die deutsche Wirtschaft kommen von hohen Energiepreisen und einem verschlechterten Finanzierungsumfeld. Bislang ist die Konjunktur robust, die Produktion hat bis in den Herbst hinein expandiert. Ab dem Frühjahr wird sie gestützt durch die weitere Entspannung der Lieferketten und eine Belebung der Weltwirtschaft. Das BIP dürfte 2022 in den ersten drei Quartalen um 1,8% zugenommen haben, den Winter über leicht sinken und 2023 insgesamt stagnieren (Ostdeutschland: 1,8% und 0,2%). Die Inflation geht nach 7,8% im Jahr 2022 auf 6,5% im Jahr 2023 zurück.
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