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Corporate Financial Distress and Bankruptcy: A Survey

Author

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  • Senbet, Lemma W.
  • Wang, Tracy Yue

Abstract

This survey provides a synthetic and evaluative survey of issues in corporate financial distress and bankruptcy. This area has moved into a public domain as a result of the recent global financial crisis that witnessed failures of many venerable institutions that got rescued by the government. Hence, this survey highlights the resolution mechanisms not only in the private domain but also in the public domain, and it uses corporate finance paradigms to interpret some of the far-reaching developments in financial distress of systemic nature. This survey's theoretical anchor is a framework for the delineation of economic distress and financial distress. The difficulty in disentangling the dichotomy has been a central challenge in the empirics relating to financial distress, corporate bankruptcy, and the use of apparently cost-effective private mechanisms for resolving financial distress. This review devotes ample space on the discussion of conditions under which privatization of bankruptcy succeeds and fails, and the recent empirics on the subject. The review also grapples with the efficiency of bankruptcy codes and regimes, given the frequent usage of court-supervised mechanisms. The fundamental efficiency question about the bankruptcy law is whether the law effectively rehabilitates economically efficient but financially distressed firms and liquidates economically inefficient firms. This survey provides an ongoing debate in law and in economic theories about the efficiency of the U.S. bankruptcy code. Moreover, it examines a linkage between financial distress and corporate governance, which has received growing attention. The review goes beyond the United States to take a look at comparative bankruptcy codes around the world with a focus on bankruptcy reform issues in emerging economies. Finally, this survey takes us into a public domain and systemic financial distress. This is inspired by the recent global financial crisis. Is the standard bankruptcy procedure (e.g., those embedded in Chapters 11 and 7) sufficient for resolving systemic financial distress? The review attempts to answer this question in the context of the recently adopted landmark legislation, particularly the Dodd-Frank Act's Title II (Receivership), which governs the resolution of systemically critical institutions.

Suggested Citation

  • Senbet, Lemma W. & Wang, Tracy Yue, 2012. "Corporate Financial Distress and Bankruptcy: A Survey," Foundations and Trends(R) in Finance, now publishers, vol. 5(4), pages 243-335, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:now:fntfin:0500000009
    DOI: 10.1561/0500000009
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    Cited by:

    1. Anton Miglo, 2022. "Crowdfunding and bank financing: substitutes or complements?," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 59(3), pages 1115-1142, October.
    2. Frank Ranganai Matenda & Mabutho Sibanda & Eriyoti Chikodza & Victor Gumbo, 2022. "Bankruptcy prediction for private firms in developing economies: a scoping review and guidance for future research," Management Review Quarterly, Springer, vol. 72(4), pages 927-966, December.
    3. Moreno-Bromberg, Santiago & Vo, Quynh-Anh, 2017. "Resolution of financial distress under agency frictions," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 82(C), pages 40-58.
    4. Maurice Mwita Range & Agnes Njeru & Gichuhi. A. Waititu (Jkuat), 2018. "Using Altman’s Z score (Book Value of Equity/Total Liabilities) Ratio Model in Assessing Likelihood of Bankruptcy for Sugar Companies in Kenya," International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, Human Resource Management Academic Research Society, International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, vol. 8(6), pages 578-601, June.
    5. Mojdeh , Zahra & Tehranchian , Amir Mansour & Jafari Samimi , Ahmad & Rasekhi , Saeed, 2020. "Analyzing the Impact of Leverage Rate on Export Survival: The Case of Iranian Firms," Journal of Money and Economy, Monetary and Banking Research Institute, Central Bank of the Islamic Republic of Iran, vol. 15(1), pages 25-34, January.
    6. Douglas Cumming & Florencio Lopez-de-Silanes & Joseph A McCahery & Armin Schwienbacher, 2020. "Tranching in the syndicated loan market around the world," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 51(1), pages 95-120, February.
    7. Blazy, Régis & Esquerré, Stéphane, 2021. "The CV effect: To what extent does the chance to reorganize depend on a bankruptcy judge’s profile?," International Review of Law and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 66(C).
    8. Ahsan Habib & Mabel D' Costa & Hedy Jiaying Huang & Md. Borhan Uddin Bhuiyan & Li Sun, 2020. "Determinants and consequences of financial distress: review of the empirical literature," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 60(S1), pages 1023-1075, April.
    9. Sheng Guo & Qiang Kang & Oscar A. Mitnik, 2022. "Dynamics of managerial power and CEO compensation in the course of corporate distress: Evidence from 1992 to 2019," Financial Management, Financial Management Association International, vol. 51(3), pages 797-825, September.
    10. Jaroslaw Kaczmarek & Sergio Luis Nanez Alonso & Andrzej Sokolowski & Kamil Fijorek & Sabina Denkowska, 2021. "Financial threat profiles of industrial enterprises in Poland," Oeconomia Copernicana, Institute of Economic Research, vol. 12(2), pages 463-498, June.
    11. Ruiyuan Chen & Sadok El Ghoul & Omrane Guedhami & Chuck C. Y. Kwok & Robert Nash, 2021. "International evidence on state ownership and trade credit: Opportunities and motivations," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 52(6), pages 1121-1158, August.
    12. Kerry Liu, 2020. "Chinese consumer finance: a primer," Frontiers of Business Research in China, Springer, vol. 14(1), pages 1-22, December.
    13. Elsayed, Mohamed & Elshandidy, Tamer, 2020. "Do narrative-related disclosures predict corporate failure? Evidence from UK non-financial publicly quoted firms," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 71(C).
    14. Sadok El Ghoul & Omrane Guedhami & Chuck C Y Kwok & Ying Zheng, 2021. "The role of creditor rights on capital structure and product market interactions: International evidence," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 52(1), pages 121-147, February.
    15. Mabel D. Costa & Ahsan Habib & Md. Borhan Uddin Bhuiyan, 2021. "Financial constraints and asymmetric cost behavior," Journal of Management Control: Zeitschrift für Planung und Unternehmenssteuerung, Springer, vol. 32(1), pages 33-83, March.
    16. Bruyland, Evy & Lasfer, Meziane & De Maeseneire, Wouter & Song, Wei, 2019. "The performance of acquisitions by high default risk bidders," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 101(C), pages 37-58.
    17. Qianqian Huang & Ryoonhee Kim, 2019. "Capital structure decisions along the supply chain: Evidence from import competition," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 50(6), pages 873-894, August.
    18. Sundgren, Stefan & Alexeyeva, Irina, 2022. "Entrepreneurs’ legal infractions and hidden information: Evidence from small business bankruptcies," International Review of Law and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 69(C).
    19. Régis BLAZY & Stéphane ESQUERRE, 2019. "The CV effect: How far do the chances to reorganize depend on the bankruptcy judges’ profile?," Working Papers of LaRGE Research Center 2019-07, Laboratoire de Recherche en Gestion et Economie (LaRGE), Université de Strasbourg.
    20. Amiraslani, Hami & Donovan, John & Phillips, Matthew A. & Wittenberg-Moerman, Regina, 2023. "Contracting in the Dark: The rise of public-side lenders in the syndicated loan market," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 76(1).
    21. Elsayed, Mohamed & Elshandidy, Tamer & Ahmed, Yousry, 2022. "Corporate failure in the UK: An examination of corporate governance reforms," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 82(C).
    22. Cook, Douglas O. & Fu, Xudong & Tang, Tian, 2014. "The effect of liquidity and solvency risk on the inclusion of bond covenants," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 48(C), pages 120-136.
    23. Eltigani Mohamed Ali Ahmed, 2021. "Leadership and organizational distress: Review of literature," International Journal of Research in Business and Social Science (2147-4478), Center for the Strategic Studies in Business and Finance, vol. 10(6), pages 01-18, September.
    24. John R. Graham & Hyunseob Kim & Si Li & Jiaping Qiu, 2013. "Human Capital Loss In Corporate Bankruptcy," Working Papers 13-37, Center for Economic Studies, U.S. Census Bureau.
    25. Ghaly, Mohamed & Dang, Viet Anh & Stathopoulos, Konstantinos, 2015. "Cash holdings and employee welfare," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 33(C), pages 53-70.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Financial distress; Bankruptcy; Financial crisis; Bankruptcy codes; Corporate governance; Finance; Accounting; Money and Banking; Corporate Finance; Corporate Governance;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • G01 - Financial Economics - - General - - - Financial Crises
    • G33 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Bankruptcy; Liquidation
    • K22 - Law and Economics - - Regulation and Business Law - - - Business and Securities Law

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