Debt Covenants and Capital Structure: Evidence from an Exogenous Shock to Debt Capacity
Western Finance Association 2012 Annual Meeting
55 Pages Posted: 31 Aug 2011 Last revised: 12 Jul 2012
Date Written: July 9, 2012
Abstract
This paper empirically examines how debt covenants impact the capital structure choices of firms, by utilizing an exogenous accounting based shock to the distance to covenant violation. We find that, on average, the shock to debt capacity had a positive impact on the debt choices of all treated firms, but the response was strongest by firms that were close to violating or in violation of the affected covenants, and that were otherwise financially unconstrained. Our findings suggest that debt covenants are a key component of the capital structure trade-off that influences debt choices well before they are triggered. We proceed to examine how the additional debt affected firms' corporate financial behavior and find that it did not result in an increase in investments or cash holdings, but rather was associated with lower profitability and a lower likelihood to enter default or bankruptcy. Some firms even maintained or increased their dividend payouts.
Keywords: Debt, covenants, financial constraints, leverage, investments, default
JEL Classification: G01, G30, G31, G33, M21, M41
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation
Do you have a job opening that you would like to promote on SSRN?
Recommended Papers
-
The Determinants and Implications of Corporate Cash Holdings
By Tim C. Opler, Lee Pinkowitz, ...
-
The Cash Flow Sensitivity of Cash
By Heitor Almeida, Murillo Campello, ...
-
Why Do U.S. Firms Hold so Much More Cash than They Used to?
By Thomas W. Bates, Kathleen M. Kahle, ...
-
Why Do U.S. Firms Hold so Much More Cash than They Used to?
By Thomas W. Bates, Kathleen M. Kahle, ...
-
Bank Lines of Credit in Corporate Finance: An Empirical Analysis
By Amir Sufi
-
Corporate Governance and Firm Cash Holdings
By Jarrad Harford, Sattar Mansi, ...
-
Corporate Financial Policy and the Value of Cash
By Michael W. Faulkender and Rong Wang
-
Is Cash Negative Debt? A Hedging Perspective on Corporate Financial Policies
By Heitor Almeida, Viral V. Acharya, ...