Cost of Loans and Moral Hazard

Abstract

We document the effects of higher borrowing cost on private firms by exploiting a novel quasi-experiment and a unique and comprehensive dataset from Sweden. In June 2010, the central bank of Sweden increased the repo rate unexpectedly and exposed firms with long term loans maturing right before or after the hike to different cost of borrowing. Consistent with the debt overhang theory, we find that higher cost of borrowing has a significant negative effect on investment, and more for highly levered firms. Contrary to the risk shifting theory, we find no evidence that distressed firms engage in activities that are riskier ex-post.

Keywords: debt overhang, risk shifting, cost of borrowing, loan maturity

JEL Classification: G30, G32