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We examine how locked-in CEO equity attributable to large unrealized capital gains tax liabilities influences the cost and restrictiveness of debt contracts. We find that firms enjoy lower loan spreads and are more (less) likely to receive ratings upgrades (downgrades) when their CEO has a large tax burden. Using the capital gains tax rate decrease in the Tax Reform Act of 1997 as an exogenous shock to CEO tax burdens, we find that CEOs with large tax burdens before the tax cut experience a sharp increase in loan spreads afterward. This increase in spreads is larger when the firm has low profitability, high bankruptcy risk, and when loans are unsecured. Further, CEO tax burdens decrease the restrictiveness of nonprice loan terms, increase syndicate size, and decrease issue costs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Contrary to the findings of prior research that focuses on private loans and bank debt, we find that greater CEO social capital is positively associated with a firm's cost of public debt. This effect is particularly pronounced for firms in financial distress and firms with a higher probability of default that increase dividends. Examining the channel, we demonstrate that social capital is associated with a reduced use of restrictive covenants, which subsequently amplifies the firm's cost of debt. Collectively, the results support the risk-shifting perspective as a plausible mechanism. Our findings remain robust when considering alternative proxies for social capital, alternative model specifications, and tests for endogeneity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explores the influence of air pollution on the corporate bond market in China. An air pollution premium is documented, whereby bonds issued in more polluted areas are associated with higher offering yields at issue in the primary market and higher yield spreads in the secondary market. The statistically and economically significant air pollution premium is robust to a battery of sensitivity checks. The air pollution premium is associated with rising investor attention to climate risk in financial markets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines whether owner-managers of small firms use their compensation strategically to change reported earnings. We identify an institutional setting, Denmark, in which the owner-manager has the discretion to shift compensation from salary to dividends and hence increase reported earnings at almost no direct cost due to approximate tax neutrality between the two income streams. Three findings emerge. First, owner-managers are twice as likely to decrease their salary when doing so can result in meeting or beating the zero earnings benchmark. Second, those decreasing their salaries to beat the benchmark are 45% more likely to increase dividends simultaneously than those who can beat the benchmark but do not. This indicates that reporting incentives shape compensation shifting. Third, owner-managed firms enjoy about 6% (EUR 1070) lower interest rates (interest expenses), than firms reporting losses, when they beat the benchmark by simultaneously decreasing salaries and increasing dividends. Our results highlight that owner-managers can manage reported earnings by altering their own compensation, which has economic consequences for the firm. This has implications for users of owner-managed firms' financial reports because reported earnings would seem a poor contracting signal for these firms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research aims to examine the impact of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) disclosure on cost of debt in non-financial companies listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange across ten different industries. This study utilizes a sample comprising 288 non-financial companies from ten different industries listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange for the period from 2017 to 2022, all of which have published sustainability reports (SR), resulting in 742 observations. Regression analysis using Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) is employed to examine the impact of companies' ESG disclosures on costs of debt. The robustness of these findings is assessed and confirmed through four distinct analytical models, namely OLS Standard Error, SSC Model, Fixed Effect Model, and Random Effect Model. The research outcomes indicate that increased environmental, social, and governance (ESG) disclosure is associated with a reduction in the cost of debt. These findings exhibit robustness across diverse industries and remain consistent when employing various statistical methodologies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Carbon Emission Disclosure (CED) trends have been positive for several years. Unfortunately, studies focusing on the relationship between CED and the Cost of Debt (COD) still need to be made available, particularly in emerging countries. Addressing this gap, this study aims to analyze the relationship between CED and COD in Indonesia. We predict that firms can enjoy a lower COD by lowering asymmetry information and fulfilling public expectations through CED. Using the unique characteristic of Indonesian-listed firms that participated Public Disclosure Program for Environmental Compliance (PROPER) during 2015 to 2019, we confirmed our verdict. Our result is robust due to several endogeneity test checks. Our study is believed to be one of the pioneers in analyzing the impact of CED on COD in the emerging market. Moreover, this study sample is limited to firms that follow PROPER, and we believe this is one of the robust initiatives to minimize greenwashing practices in CED. Plain Language Summary: Analyzing the impact of CEO auditor background on debt costs in Indonesia This study explores how a CEO's background as an auditor influences a company's debt costs in Indonesia. We found that companies led by CEOs with an auditing background tend to have lower debt costs. This is because auditors have a better understanding of financial risks and are more effective in managing audits. We also compare our findings with previous studies to highlight the new insights we discovered. This study is important as it provides insights into how a CEO's background can affect a company's financial performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study aims to investigate the effect of ESG controversies and their moderating role in ESG performance and the cost of equity and overall, short-term and long-term debt capital relationship in European listed companies. Design/methodology/approach: The study employs two-way fixed effects panel linear regression models on the balanced longitudinal dataset of 231 European non-financial companies listed in the MSCI Europe Index in 2017–2022. To check the robustness, the study utilises the fixed effects logistic regression models with heteroskedasticity-consistent standard errors. Findings: The study reveals the significant effect of ESG performance (negative) and ESG controversies (negative) on the cost of debt capital and the substantial moderating effect of ESG controversies (positive). Additionally, it provides empirical evidence of the crossover moderating effect of ESG controversies in ESG performance and cost of equity relationship. Research limitations/implications: The findings contribute to corporate practice and empirically support legitimacy and stakeholder theories. Practical implications: Companies can utilise the results to proactively enhance their internal policies and behaviour to align with ESG practices and avoid ESG controversies, which will translate into reduced equity capital costs for shareholders and a lower cost of debt capital charged by creditors. Originality/value: To the best of the authors' knowledge, this is the first study to comprehensively investigate the influence of ESG controversies and their moderating effect in the context of the equity and debt capital cost for European listed companies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Private firms in China are contributing immensely to the country's economic growth. However, increasing the capital cost of private firms in China is a big challenge that needs to be addressed. This study intends to examine the role of optimal corporate social responsibility (CSR) investment while lowering the cost of equity capital and debt capital in Chinese private firms. In addition, this research study reveals the moderating role of state‐owned shares in the association between CSR and private firms' capital costs. By taking a sample of Chinese private firms from 2011 to 2021, this study employs the CSR optimization method. The findings show that CSR optimization tends to reduce the cost of equity capital and debt capital in Chinese private firms. Further investigation shows that over‐investment in CSR increases the cost of capital. Moreover, an increase in state‐owned shares strengthens the negative relationship between the cost of debt capital and optimal CSR investments. The present study's findings are helpful for Chinese firms to undertake optimal CSR investment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rising costs, complex supply chain management, and stringent regulations have created significant financial burdens on business sustainability, calling for new and rapid strategies to help enterprises transform. Supply chain digitalization (SCD) has emerged as a promising approach in the context of digitalization and globalization, with the potential to reduce an enterprise's debt costs. Developing a strategic framework for SCD that effectively reduces the cost of debt (CoD) has become a key academic challenge, critical for ensuring business sustainability. To this end, under the perspective of four flows, SCD is deconstructed into four distinct features: logistics flow digitalization (LFD), product flow digitalization (PFD), information flow digitalization (IFD), and capital flow digitalization (CFD). To precisely measure the four SCD features and the dependent variable, COD, publicly available data from Chinese listed manufacturing enterprises such as annual report texts and financial statement data are collected, and various data mining technologies are also used to conduct data measurement and data processing. To comprehensively investigate the impact pattern of SCD on CoD, we employed the explainable machine learning methodology for data analysis. This methodology involved in-depth data discussions, cross-validation utilizing a series of machine learning models, and the utilization of Shapley additive explanations (SHAP) to explain the results generated by the models. To conduct sensitivity analysis, permutation feature importance (PFI) and partial dependence plots (PDPs) were also incorporated as supplementary explanatory methods, providing additional insights into the model's explainability. Through the aforementioned research processes, the following findings are obtained: SCD can play a role in reducing CoD, but the effects of different SCD features are not exactly the same. Among the four SCD features, LFD, PFD, and IFD have the potential to significantly reduce CoD, with PFD having the most substantial impact, followed by LFD and IFD. In contrast, CFD has a relatively weak impact, and its role is challenging to discern. These findings provide significant guidance for enterprises in furthering their digitalization and supply chain development, helping them optimize SCD strategies more accurately to reduce CoD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While earnings management has been employed to conceal corporations' true performance, concerns have risen regarding its adverse impact on financing costs, particularly the cost of debt. This study, therefore, aims to examine the impact of earnings management on the cost of debt in Vietnam. Using data on 197 companies during 2016-2020 in a wide variety of industries and a quantile regression approach, which allows different magnitudes in the impact of earnings management on the cost of debt, the study indicates the negative impact of earnings management on the cost of debt. Earnings management leads to a higher cost of debt. The result supports the garbling theory that Vietnamese firms engage in earnings management exhibit a higher cost of debt as a form of punishment for gaming earnings. In Vietnam, the impact of earnings management is more severe at high levels of debt. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study argues that different definitions/perceptions of risk information could affect investors' decisions differently. Using a sample of 328 non‐financial UK firms and departing from existing literature, this study measures corporate risk disclosure (RD) via computerized content analysis to capture four different perspectives of defining RD. This study investigates (i) the effects of these RD measures on the Cost of Capital (COC), (ii) the influence of analysts' coverage on the relationship between RD and COC, and (iii) whether the RD nature (favourable/unfavourable) might affect COC differently. Lenders and equity holders are found not to consider any risk information expressed as a variation around a target, while only lenders consider risk information that reveals negative outcomes. However, lenders and equity holders consider risk information that expresses negative and positive outcomes together. Besides, firms that disclose extra risk information and have a large analyst following suffer from a higher Cost of Equity (COE) compared with those with fewer analysts following. Additionally, lenders impose a lower interest rate on firms with a higher unfavourable RD, while equity holders ask for lower returns from the firms with a higher favourable RD. The study has significant implications for capital market participants, researchers, and policymakers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The growing societal focus on addressing environmental and social issues has spurred a shift towards circular production and consumption models. In this scenario, the implementation of circular economy (CE) practices has attracted the attention of scholars, professionals and institutions. The relevance of the CE has shed light on the importance of communicating efforts and achievements in relation to the implementation of circular models. Therefore, from an academic point of view, several scholars have started to explore some aspects related to CE disclosure (CED). Despite this, a relatively unexplored trend pertains to the effects of the CED, especially regarding the use of social media to disseminate information. In order to fill the gap, this study aims to investigate the effect of the dissemination of CE information via Twitter on the cost of debt. To this end, a dictionary‐based content analysis is employed to quantify the amount of CE information disseminated via Twitter. Additionally, a panel regression analysis is conducted to test the impact of the CED on the cost of debt across a sample of 378 observations (an unbalanced panel of 132 firms for the period 2019–2021). The results indicate the presence of a negative relationship between the level of the CED and the cost of debt. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines how corporate social responsibility (CSR) disclosure and family firms affect the cost of debt (COD) using a sample of companies listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange between 2017 and 2020. Ordinary least square regression was applied to investigate this association. This study also addresses the endogeneity problem using the generalized method of moments (GMM). This study finds that CSR lowers a company's COD. Firms with more CSR reporting minimize information asymmetry and improve their reputation. Next, we investigate whether family ownership can moderate the relationship between CSR and the COD. These findings support the hypothesis that family ownership moderates the relationship between CSR and COD. It is possible that family businesses use CSR to maintain a good reputation among their stakeholders, thus producing more CSR reports. The findings contribute to the literature by providing empirical evidence on how CSR and family firms experience a lower COD capital in the emerging economy context of Indonesia. Furthermore, this study provides academic implications by investigating whether family ownership can be a moderator variable in the association between CSR and COD. The study also has practical implications for practitioners and regulators in creating policies that promote better CSR initiatives and corporate governance systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines the effect of tax avoidance on the cost of debt with tax risk as a moderating variable titled "The Effect of Tax Avoidance on The Cost of Debt with Tax Risk as A Moderating Variable". The data examined in this research comes from secondary data in the form of financial reports presented by the company. The companies that will be researched are infrastructure, transportation & logistics, property & real estate, and technology listed on the IDX for the 2019-2022 period listed on the IDX. Based on the object of this research, a total of 104 financial reports are observation data. This research uses the Descriptive Statistics Test, the Classical Assumption Test and the Multicollinearity Test as stages to test the normality of the data. Then, there is multiple linear analysis, which is continued with the Coefficient of Determination Test and ends with hypothesis testing via the T and F tests. The results obtained are tax. Avoidance positively affects the cost of debt, so tax risk weakens the interaction of tax avoidance with the cost of debt. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates the ESG performance–systemic risk (SR) nexus among Indian companies. Using the beta coefficient from the Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM) and statistical analysis, it explores how ESG performance affects SR. The findings reveal that firms with higher ESG scores have lower SR sensitivity. Notably, there is a significant difference in risk sensitivity between high- and low-ESG-rated companies, with ESG effects being less pronounced in high-cap firms compared to low-cap firms. Conversely, large firms, older firms, and those with lower borrowing costs show a diminished effect of ESG ratings on their SR sensitivity. These results underscore the importance of firm-specific characteristics in determining the efficacy of ESG strategies in risk mitigation. This study reveals that ESG performance reduces SR, with market valuation affecting this relationship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study proposes that naming a firm eponymously is a mechanism that small private firms can use to signal their superior financial performance and commitment to fulfill debt contract obligations. Using 621,614 small private firms in Europe over the period 2008–2018, we find that small private eponymous firms pay significantly lower interest on their debts and have more long-term debt than non-eponymous firms. Our findings are robust to various controls and placebo tests. Additional analyses show that eponymy lowers the cost of debt and facilitates long-term debt via reputation signaling and private information. We also document that the effect of eponymy on debt contracting is most pronounced when there is less financial development and when firms' dependence on external financing is low, consistent with the idea that high-quality firms opt for eponymy when they consider less external financing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper empirically investigates the influence of uncertainty on corporate leverage for 6248 Indian firms for the period 2011– 2021. We find that their leverage tends to fall when policy uncertainty increases. Further, we investigate the two channels through which policy uncertainty affects corporate leverage: demand and supply channels. We find that policy uncertainty increases the burden of debt financing. Furthermore, companies are inclined towards reducing their investment demand during periods of higher uncertainty. Both of these factors contribute to lower debt financing and leverage. Our findings are robust to endogeneity concerns and diverse model identifications using alternate measures of leverage and policy uncertainty. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study analyses the impact of financial reputation on the cost of debt financing for Indian companies. In doing so, panel regression analysis is performed using firm-specific data on 395 Indian listed firms covering 2002–2017. The paper uses market capitalization as a benchmark of financial reputation. For robustness check, excess of market value over book value is also used as a proxy of financial reputation. The study found that the reputation of a firm in financial markets plays a vital role in determining the cost of financing. The results provide evidence supporting a significant negative relationship between financial reputation and the cost of debt. The findings provide motivation for corporate managers to invest in reputation-building activities to reduce the cost of borrowing. The relevance of reputation in lowering the cost of debt capital has garnered limited attention, especially in emerging economies like India. This study is a preliminary attempt to link two strands of research in the Indian context: financial reputation and the cost of debt. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study identifies if sustainable development practices measured through ESG information disclosure are related to stakeholder confidence, leading to a lower cost of debt and equity financing. We also investigate the possible moderating role of real earnings management. We apply a fixed effects panel data analysis to 1659 firm‐year observations of 177 European companies from 2010 to 2019. The results show that investors value ESG disclosure negatively and increase the cost of equity, whereas lenders value it positively and reduce the cost of debt. In addition, when the moderating effect of real earnings management is introduced, the effect of ESG disclosure on the cost of debt decreases, and the effect of ESG disclosure on the cost of equity is reinforced by increasing it. In the presence of real earnings management, investors and lenders seem to think companies use ESG disclosure to legitimise their practices or mislead financing providers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For a sample of public bond issues by U.S. firms between 2000 and 2019, sourced from the Securities Data Corporation (SDC) New Issues database, we examine the relationship between CEO-friendly boards and the cost of debt. To explore this relationship, we construct proxies for board friendliness based on social connections sourced from the BoardEx database, classifying a board as friendly if it includes at least one outside director who has a social connection with the CEO. Our regression analysis reveals a negative association between CEO-friendly boards and yield spreads and a positive association between CEO-friendly boards and credit ratings. These effects exist after controlling for firm and bond characteristics based on prior literature. The results are robust to an alternative measure of board friendliness and potential endogeneity. These findings imply that firms with a CEO-friendly board experience a lower cost of bond financing. This supports the argument that effective communication between CEOs and directors contributes to the enhancement of creditor interests. Our results carry a practical implication that firms heavily reliant on debt should actively employ CEO-friendly boards. Despite the burgeoning literature on CEO-friendly boards, there is a lack of research on the relationship between CEO-friendly boards and the cost of debt. Our results fill this gap in the extant literature on CEO-friendly boards. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AbstractThis study aims to investigate the relationship between enterprise risk management and cost of debt in the context of developing countries by considering the moderating role of the COVID-19 pandemic crisis period which is suspected to strengthen the negative association between these two variables. Using 310 non-financial sector companies listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange for the period of 2018–2021 as samples, this study found that the implementation of effective risk management is associated with lower cost of debt charged by lenders. However, the association between these two variables was not visible during the COVID-19 crisis. These results are robust when sub-sample tests, assessment with alternative ERM measurements, and sensitivity test using the generalized method of moments (GMM) are performed. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first to address the direct relationship between enterprise risk management and external funding, especially cost of debt in the context of developing countries. In addition, this study is also the first to provide empirical evidence of the correlation between the COVID-19 pandemic and these two variables in the context of developing countries, specifically Indonesia.

AbstractOne of the most pressing issues facing developing economies is how to provide expansion capital for existing businesses. However, this issue is more pressing in China, where private enterprises suffer significant financial constraints from capital market limitations. Therefore, the significance of obtaining third-party loan guarantees rises among private firms in the secondary loan market. This study investigates the relationship between loan guarantees and the firm’s cost of debt and the moderating effect of management earnings forecasts. We find that loan guarantees have a significant negative relationship with the firm’s cost of debt. However, a positive relationship between information asymmetry measures and loan guarantees is more pronounced, suggesting that loan guarantees reduce the significance of information asymmetry issues, which impair borrowing firms’ re-payment ability and increase the credit risk of guarantors and banks. In contrast, frequent and quality management earnings forecasts help firms to build their reputation in the market by reducing the concerns of information asymmetry, information risk, agency problems, and loan repayment with banks, which, in turn, benefit firms in reducing their cost of debt. Our study results are robust to the use of two-stage least square analysis, and Heckman two-stage treatment effect model. This work offers the latest contribution to the recent understanding of the effects of loan guarantees in reducing the cost of debt and the vital role of management earnings forecasts in firms’ growth.

The issue of efficiency in choosing funding sources has become a concern for researchers, especially during the Covid 19 pandemic. Our research seeks to investigate whether family involvement and ownership can contribute to funding efficiency, especially from debt. Then we extended the test to see if earnings management behavior could affect family involvement and ownership. For this purpose, we collect family companies that are listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange for the period 2005 to 2020. The method we use is panel data regression analysis. The results of the study prove that family involvement in management and share ownership is able to contribute to reducing the cost of debt during the covid 19 pandemic. The results also provide empirical evidence that earnings management carried out through abnormal cash flows does not affect family involvement and ownership in contributing to lowering the cost of debt. This research is expected to provide implications for family companies, especially in determining funding decisions from debt schemes.

We examine the influence of accounting reporting complexity at the corporate level on firm debt ratings. Utilizing a dataset comprising non-financial firms in the United States from 2011 to 2017, our findings indicate a statistically significant adverse impact of accounting reporting complexity on debt ratings. This suggests that firms characterized by higher accounting reporting complexity (ARC) levels tend to exhibit lower debt ratings. Additionally, our analysis reveals that the cost of debt serves as a crucial mechanism through which ARC influences debt ratings. Overall, firms are advised to enhance communication with stakeholders, collaborate with credit rating agencies, and maintain vigilance in monitoring and adapting to changes in reporting standards and industry practices, contributing to overall financial stability and investor confidence.

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This study delves into the interplay between the Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) ratings and the debt costs incurred by Korean-listed companies, highlighting their pivotal significance in today's corporate ecosystem. Our primary focus is to explore how the extent of media coverage moderates this relationship, thereby shedding light on the pivotal role that public scrutiny plays in shaping a company's financial outcomes. Utilizing the Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) regression model, we rigorously control for industry and year effects, as well as firm-specific variations. Additionally, we conduct a series of supplementary analyses and robust tests to further strengthen the credibility of our findings. Our empirical analysis reveals that firms with poor ESG ratings, indicating corporate social irresponsibility, incur higher debt costs in the subsequent period. Notably, this adverse financial impact is significantly alleviated for companies that enjoy higher media coverage. This notable discovery underscores the potential of media scrutiny to reduce the financial burden imposed by inadequate ESG performance. Our results suggest that companies, especially those with limited media attention, should prioritize enhancing their ESG performance to mitigate potential financial implications. Overall, our research contributes to a more nuanced understanding of the intersection between corporate social responsibility, media coverage, and financial performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]