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Institutional Differences and International Private Debt Markets: A Test Using Mandatory IFRS Adoption

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  • ANNA BERGMAN BROWN

Abstract

Institutional differences between countries result in additional information risks between borrowers and lenders in cross‐border private loans. This study examines the effect of these information risks on the structure of optimal debt contracts in international (cross‐border) versus domestic private debt markets. Using mandatory IFRS adoption as an indicator for institutional changes that reduced differences between countries, I compare attributes of international versus domestic loans before and after IFRS adoption. I find that, in the pre‐IFRS period, international loans are associated with a higher credit spread, a weaker relationship between the bank and the borrower, a more diffuse loan syndicate, and less reliance on accounting‐based covenants than domestic loans. These results are consistent with incremental information risks in international debt markets that make it more costly for lenders to screen and monitor borrower credit quality, resulting in a more arm's‐length relationship between borrowers and lenders. Many of these associations attenuate after IFRS adoption, suggesting that the pre‐IFRS differences in contract terms are driven by incremental information risks related to institutional differences between countries. My findings imply that incremental information risks result in a different optimal contract in international debt contracts compared to domestic debt contracts.

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  • Anna Bergman Brown, 2016. "Institutional Differences and International Private Debt Markets: A Test Using Mandatory IFRS Adoption," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 54(3), pages 679-723, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:joares:v:54:y:2016:i:3:p:679-723
    DOI: 10.1111/1475-679X.12111
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    3. Zahn Bozanic & Maria Loumioti & Florin P. Vasvari, 2018. "Corporate Loan Securitization and the Standardization of Financial Covenants," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 56(1), pages 45-83, March.
    4. Annita Florou & Urska Kosi & Peter F. Pope, 2017. "Are international accounting standards more credit relevant than domestic standards?," Accounting and Business Research, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 47(1), pages 1-29, January.
    5. Yaseen S. Alhaj-Yaseen & Kean Wu & Leslie B. Fletcher, 2018. "Accounting Standards and Earnings Quality — Evidence from Registered ADRs," Review of Pacific Basin Financial Markets and Policies (RPBFMP), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 21(04), pages 1-40, December.
    6. Florou, Annita & Kosi, Urska & Pope, Peter F., 2017. "Are international accounting standards more credit relevant than domestic standards?," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 68202, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    7. Lee, Edward & Pappas, Kostas & Xu, Alice Liang, 2020. "Foreign Lenders’ adoption of performance pricing provisions in syndicated loans," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 118(C).
    8. Khadija S. Almaghrabi & Kwaku Opong & Ioannis Tsalavoutas, 2021. "Compliance with pension‐related mandatory disclosures and debt financing," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 48(1-2), pages 148-184, January.
    9. Mehdi Beyhaghi & Rui Dai & Anthony Saunders & John Wald, 2021. "International Lending: The Role of Lender's Home Country," Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 53(6), pages 1373-1416, September.
    10. Ater, Brandon & Hansen, Bowe, 2021. "Do the specific countries in which a multinational corporation operates affect its private loan contracts?," Journal of Multinational Financial Management, Elsevier, vol. 62(C).
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