A Matter of Trust? The Bond Market Benefits of Corporate Social Capital During the Financial Crisis

55 Pages Posted: 26 Sep 2017

See all articles by Hami Amiraslani

Hami Amiraslani

INSEAD

Karl V. Lins

University of Utah - Department of Finance

Henri Servaes

London Business School; Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR); European Corporate Governance Institute (ECGI)

Ane Tamayo

London School of Economics & Political Science (LSE); European Corporate Governance Institute (ECGI)

Multiple version iconThere are 2 versions of this paper

Date Written: September 2017

Abstract

We investigate whether a firm's social capital, and the trust that it engenders, are viewed favorably by bondholders. Using the financial crisis as an exogenous shock to trust, and firms' corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities as a proxy for social capital, we show that high-CSR firms benefited from lower bond spreads in the secondary market during the financial crisis compared to low-CSR firms. These findings are more pronounced for firms that, when in distress, have a greater opportunity to engage in asset substitution or divert cash to shareholders. High-CSR firms were also able to raise more debt capital on the primary market during this period, and those high-CSR firms that raised more debt were able to do so at lower at-issue bond spreads, better initial credit ratings, and for longer maturities. Our results suggest that debt investors believe that high-CSR firms are less likely to engage in asset substitution and diversion that would be detrimental to stakeholders, including debtholders. These findings also indicate that the benefits of CSR that accrued to shareholders during the financial crisis carry across to another important asset class, debt capital.

Keywords: corporate bonds, cost of debt, CSR, financial crisis, social capital, Trust

JEL Classification: G12, G21, G32, M14

Suggested Citation

Amiraslani, Hami and Lins, Karl V. and Servaes, Henri and Tamayo, Ane Miren, A Matter of Trust? The Bond Market Benefits of Corporate Social Capital During the Financial Crisis (September 2017). CEPR Discussion Paper No. DP12321, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3042634

Hami Amiraslani (Contact Author)

INSEAD ( email )

1 Ayer Rajah Avenue
Singapore, 138676
Singapore

Karl V. Lins

University of Utah - Department of Finance ( email )

David Eccles School of Business
Salt Lake City, UT 84112
United States
801-585-3171 (Phone)
801-581-7214 (Fax)

Henri Servaes

London Business School ( email )

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London NW1 4SA
United Kingdom
+44 20 7000 8268 (Phone)
+44 20 7000 8201 (Fax)

HOME PAGE: http://faculty.london.edu/hservaes/

Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR)

London
United Kingdom

European Corporate Governance Institute (ECGI)

c/o the Royal Academies of Belgium
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1000 Brussels
Belgium

Ane Miren Tamayo

London School of Economics & Political Science (LSE) ( email )

Houghton Street
London, WC2A 2AE
United Kingdom
+44 (0)20 78494689 (Phone)

European Corporate Governance Institute (ECGI)

c/o the Royal Academies of Belgium
Rue Ducale 1 Hertogsstraat
1000 Brussels
Belgium

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