Corporate Leverage, Debt Maturity and Credit Default Swaps: The Role of Credit Supply

55 Pages Posted: 18 Aug 2010 Last revised: 1 Jul 2012

See all articles by Heather Tookes

Heather Tookes

Yale University - Yale School of Management; Yale University - International Center for Finance

Alessio Saretto

Federal Reserve Banks - Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas

Date Written: March 7, 2011

Abstract

Does the ability of suppliers of debt to hedge risk through credit default swap (CDS) contracts impact firms' capital structures? This paper uses CDS markets as a proxy for a relaxation of firms' credit supply constraints and tests whether supply frictions impact capital structure and debt maturity. We find that firms with traded CDS contracts on their debt are able to maintain higher leverage ratios and longer debt maturities. This is especially true during periods in which credit constraints become binding.

Keywords: Leverage, Debt Maturity, CDS, Capital Supply

JEL Classification: G32

Suggested Citation

Tookes, Heather and Saretto, Alessio, Corporate Leverage, Debt Maturity and Credit Default Swaps: The Role of Credit Supply (March 7, 2011). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1660515 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1660515

Heather Tookes

Yale University - Yale School of Management ( email )

135 Prospect Street
P.O. Box 208200
New Haven, CT 06520-8200
United States

Yale University - International Center for Finance ( email )

Box 208200
New Haven, CT 06520
United States

Alessio Saretto (Contact Author)

Federal Reserve Banks - Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas ( email )

2200 North Pearl Street
PO Box 655906
Dallas, TX 75265-5906
United States

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