IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/jbfina/v87y2018icp187-201.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Can lenders discern managerial ability from luck? Evidence from bank loan contracts

Author

Listed:
  • Bui, Dien Giau
  • Chen, Yan-Shing
  • Hasan, Iftekhar
  • Lin, Chih-Yung

Abstract

We investigate the effect of managerial ability versus luck on bank loan contracting. Borrowers showing a persistently superior managerial ability over previous years (more likely due to ability) enjoy a lower loan spread, while borrowers showing a temporary superior managerial ability (more likely due to luck) do not enjoy any spread reduction. This finding suggests that banks can discern ability from luck when pricing a loan. Firms with high-ability managers are more likely to continue their prior lower loan spread. The spread-reduction effect of managerial ability is stronger for firms with weak governance structures or poor stakeholder relationships, corroborating the notion that better managerial ability alleviates borrowers’ agency and information risks. We also find that well governed banks are better able to price governance into their borrowers’ loans, which helps explain why good governance enhances bank value.

Suggested Citation

  • Bui, Dien Giau & Chen, Yan-Shing & Hasan, Iftekhar & Lin, Chih-Yung, 2018. "Can lenders discern managerial ability from luck? Evidence from bank loan contracts," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 87(C), pages 187-201.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jbfina:v:87:y:2018:i:c:p:187-201
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jbankfin.2017.09.023
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0378426617302467
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.jbankfin.2017.09.023?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Hoje Jo & Maretno Harjoto, 2011. "Corporate Governance and Firm Value: The Impact of Corporate Social Responsibility," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 103(3), pages 351-383, October.
    2. Graham, John R. & Li, Si & Qiu, Jiaping, 2008. "Corporate misreporting and bank loan contracting," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 89(1), pages 44-61, July.
    3. Roberts, Michael R., 2015. "The role of dynamic renegotiation and asymmetric information in financial contracting," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 116(1), pages 61-81.
    4. Philip E. Strahan, 1999. "Borrower risk and the price and nonprice terms of bank loans," Staff Reports 90, Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
    5. Oliver Hart & John Moore, 1998. "Default and Renegotiation: A Dynamic Model of Debt," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 113(1), pages 1-41.
    6. Brown, Stephen J & Goetzmann, William N, 1995. "Performance Persistence," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 50(2), pages 679-698, June.
    7. Peter M. DeMarzo & Michael J. Fishman, 2007. "Optimal Long-Term Financial Contracting," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 20(6), pages 2079-2128, November.
    8. Caprio, Gerard & Laeven, Luc & Levine, Ross, 2007. "Governance and bank valuation," Journal of Financial Intermediation, Elsevier, vol. 16(4), pages 584-617, October.
    9. Bill Francis & Iftekhar Hasan & Qiang Wu, 2015. "Professors in the Boardroom and Their Impact on Corporate Governance and Firm Performance," Financial Management, Financial Management Association International, vol. 44(3), pages 547-581, September.
    10. Deng, Xin & Kang, Jun-koo & Low, Buen Sin, 2013. "Corporate social responsibility and stakeholder value maximization: Evidence from mergers," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 110(1), pages 87-109.
    11. Douglas W. Diamond, 1984. "Financial Intermediation and Delegated Monitoring," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 51(3), pages 393-414.
    12. Joel F. Houston & Liangliang Jiang & Chen Lin & Yue Ma, 2014. "Political Connections and the Cost of Bank Loans," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 52(1), pages 193-243, March.
    13. Pornsit Jiraporn & Napatsorn Jiraporn & Adisak Boeprasert & Kiyoung Chang, 2014. "Does Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Improve Credit Ratings? Evidence from Geographic Identification," Financial Management, Financial Management Association International, vol. 43(3), pages 505-531, September.
    14. Sudheer Chava & Michael R. Roberts, 2008. "How Does Financing Impact Investment? The Role of Debt Covenants," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 63(5), pages 2085-2121, October.
    15. Hasan, Iftekhar & Hoi, Chun Keung (Stan) & Wu, Qiang & Zhang, Hao, 2014. "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder: The effect of corporate tax avoidance on the cost of bank loans," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 113(1), pages 109-130.
    16. Peter Demerjian & Baruch Lev & Sarah McVay, 2012. "Quantifying Managerial Ability: A New Measure and Validity Tests," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 58(7), pages 1229-1248, July.
    17. White, Halbert, 1980. "A Heteroskedasticity-Consistent Covariance Matrix Estimator and a Direct Test for Heteroskedasticity," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 48(4), pages 817-838, May.
    18. Karl V. Lins & Henri Servaes & Ane Tamayo, 2017. "Social Capital, Trust, and Firm Performance: The Value of Corporate Social Responsibility during the Financial Crisis," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 72(4), pages 1785-1824, August.
    19. Fama, Eugene F., 1985. "What's different about banks?," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 15(1), pages 29-39, January.
    20. Hong, Harrison & Kacperczyk, Marcin, 2009. "The price of sin: The effects of social norms on markets," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 93(1), pages 15-36, July.
    21. Darius Palia, 2000. "The Impact of Regulation on CEO Labor Markets," RAND Journal of Economics, The RAND Corporation, vol. 31(1), pages 165-179, Spring.
    22. Jun Qian & Philip E. Strahan, 2007. "How Laws and Institutions Shape Financial Contracts: The Case of Bank Loans," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 62(6), pages 2803-2834, December.
    23. Rainer Haselmann & Katharina Pistor & Vikrant Vig, 2010. "How Law Affects Lending," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 23(2), pages 549-580, February.
    24. Mariassunta Giannetti & Yishay Yafeh, 2012. "Do Cultural Differences Between Contracting Parties Matter? Evidence from Syndicated Bank Loans," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 58(2), pages 365-383, February.
    25. Rui Albuquerque & Hugo A. Hopenhayn, 2004. "Optimal Lending Contracts and Firm Dynamics," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 71(2), pages 285-315.
    26. White, Joshua T. & Woidtke, Tracie & Black, Harold A. & Schweitzer, Robert L., 2014. "Appointments of academic directors," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 28(C), pages 135-151.
    27. Brown, Stephen J & Goetzmann, William N & Ibbotson, Roger G, 1999. "Offshore Hedge Funds: Survival and Performance, 1989-95," The Journal of Business, University of Chicago Press, vol. 72(1), pages 91-117, January.
    28. Andres, Pablo de & Vallelado, Eleuterio, 2008. "Corporate governance in banking: The role of the board of directors," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 32(12), pages 2570-2580, December.
    29. repec:zbw:bofrdp:2014_003 is not listed on IDEAS
    30. Rahaman, Mohammad M. & Zaman, Ashraf Al, 2013. "Management quality and the cost of debt: Does management matter to lenders?," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 37(3), pages 854-874.
    31. Eliezer M. Fich & Anil Shivdasani, 2006. "Are Busy Boards Effective Monitors?," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 61(2), pages 689-724, April.
    32. Berger, Allen N & Udell, Gregory F, 1995. "Relationship Lending and Lines of Credit in Small Firm Finance," The Journal of Business, University of Chicago Press, vol. 68(3), pages 351-381, July.
    33. Amir Sufi, 2007. "Information Asymmetry and Financing Arrangements: Evidence from Syndicated Loans," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 62(2), pages 629-668, April.
    34. Lin, Chen & Ma, Yue & Malatesta, Paul & Xuan, Yuhai, 2011. "Ownership structure and the cost of corporate borrowing," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 100(1), pages 1-23, April.
    35. Roberts, Michael R. & Sufi, Amir, 2009. "Renegotiation of financial contracts: Evidence from private credit agreements," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 93(2), pages 159-184, August.
    36. Mitchell A. Petersen, 2009. "Estimating Standard Errors in Finance Panel Data Sets: Comparing Approaches," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 22(1), pages 435-480, January.
    37. Judith Chevalier & Glenn Ellison, 1999. "Are Some Mutual Fund Managers Better Than Others? Cross‐Sectional Patterns in Behavior and Performance," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 54(3), pages 875-899, June.
    38. Sudheer Chava & Dmitry Livdan & Amiyatosh Purnanandam, 2009. "Do Shareholder Rights Affect the Cost of Bank Loans?," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 22(8), pages 2973-3004, August.
    39. Kwang-Won Lee & Ian Sharpe, 2009. "Does a Bank’s Loan Screening and Monitoring Matter?," Journal of Financial Services Research, Springer;Western Finance Association, vol. 35(1), pages 33-52, February.
    40. Oliver Hart, 2001. "Financial Contracting," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 39(4), pages 1079-1100, December.
    41. Masulis, Ronald W. & Mobbs, Shawn, 2014. "Independent director incentives: Where do talented directors spend their limited time and energy?," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 111(2), pages 406-429.
    42. J. Tyler Leverty & Martin F. Grace, 2012. "Dupes or Incompetents? An Examination of Management's Impact on Firm Distress," Journal of Risk & Insurance, The American Risk and Insurance Association, vol. 79(3), pages 751-783, September.
    43. Mikhail, Michael B. & Walther, Beverly R. & Willis, Richard H., 2004. "Do security analysts exhibit persistent differences in stock picking ability?," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 74(1), pages 67-91, October.
    44. Lucian Bebchuk & Alma Cohen & Allen Ferrell, 2009. "What Matters in Corporate Governance?," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 22(2), pages 783-827, February.
    45. Goss, Allen & Roberts, Gordon S., 2011. "The impact of corporate social responsibility on the cost of bank loans," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 35(7), pages 1794-1810, July.
    46. Sanjeev Bhojraj & Partha Sengupta, 2003. "Effect of Corporate Governance on Bond Ratings and Yields: The Role of Institutional Investors and Outside Directors," The Journal of Business, University of Chicago Press, vol. 76(3), pages 455-476, July.
    47. Rajan, Raghuram & Winton, Andrew, 1995. "Covenants and Collateral as Incentives to Monitor," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 50(4), pages 1113-1146, September.
    48. Charles M. Cameron & Lewis A. Kornhauser, 2005. "Decision Rules in a Judicial Hierarchy," Journal of Institutional and Theoretical Economics (JITE), Mohr Siebeck, Tübingen, vol. 161(2), pages 264-292, June.
    49. Sreedhar T. Bharath & Tyler Shumway, 2008. "Forecasting Default with the Merton Distance to Default Model," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 21(3), pages 1339-1369, May.
    50. Berry, Tammy K. & Bizjak, John M. & Lemmon, Michael L. & Naveen, Lalitha, 2006. "Organizational complexity and CEO labor markets: Evidence from diversified firms," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 12(4), pages 797-817, September.
    51. Kabir, Rezaul & Li, Hao & Veld-Merkoulova, Yulia V., 2013. "Executive compensation and the cost of debt," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 37(8), pages 2893-2907.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Chia-Ying Chan & Iftekhar Hasan & Chih-Yung Lin, 2021. "Agency cost of CEO perquisites in bank loan contracts," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 56(4), pages 1221-1258, May.
    2. Ju-Fang Yen & Chih-Yung Lin & Yan-Shing Chen & Ying-Chen Huang, 2015. "Founding Family Firms and Bank Loan Contracts," Journal of Financial Services Research, Springer;Western Finance Association, vol. 48(1), pages 53-82, August.
    3. Rui-Xiang Zhai & Po-Hsin Ho & Chih-Yung Lin & Tran Thi Thuy Linh, 2023. "Bank CEO risk-taking incentives and bank lending quality," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 60(3), pages 949-981, April.
    4. Lin, Chih-Yung & Chen, Yan-Shing & Yen, Ju-Fang, 2014. "On the determinant of bank loan contracts: The roles of borrowers’ ownership and board structures," The Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 54(4), pages 500-512.
    5. Po‐Hsin Ho & Chih‐Yung Lin & Tse‐Chun Lin, 2022. "Equity Short Selling and the Bank Loan Market," Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 54(2-3), pages 349-379, March.
    6. Yin-Siang Huang & Iftekhar Hasan & Ying-Chen Huang & Chih-Yung Lin, 2021. "Political Uncertainty and Bank Loan Contracts: Does Government Quality Matter?," Journal of Financial Services Research, Springer;Western Finance Association, vol. 60(2), pages 157-185, December.
    7. Tang, Ning & Kamar, Amina & Lin, Chih-Yung & Lu, Chien-Lin, 2023. "Bank safety-oriented culture and lending decisions," Journal of Financial Stability, Elsevier, vol. 66(C).
    8. Giau Bui, Dien & Chen, Yehning & Lin, Chih-Yung & Lin, Tse-Chun, 2021. "Risk-taking of bank CEOs and corporate innovation," Journal of International Money and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 115(C).
    9. Lin, Chih-Yung & Tsai, Wei-Che & Hasan, Iftekhar & Tuan, Le Quoc, 2018. "Private benefits of control and bank loan contracts," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 49(C), pages 324-343.
    10. I-Ju Chen & Iftekhar Hasan & Chih-Yung Lin & Tra Ngoc Vy Nguyen, 2021. "Do Banks Value Borrowers' Environmental Record? Evidence from Financial Contracts," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 174(3), pages 687-713, December.
    11. Robin Chen & Chia‐Wei Huang & Chih‐Yung Lin, 2022. "Board corruption and loan contracts," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 49(9-10), pages 1929-1956, October.
    12. Lin, Chih-Yung & Chen, Yehning & Ho, Po-Hsin & Yen, Ju-Fang, 2020. "CEO overconfidence and bank loan contracting," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 64(C).
    13. Chen, Shenglan & Chou, Robin K. & Liu, Xiaoling & Wu, Yuhui, 2020. "Deregulation of short-selling constraints and cost of bank loans: Evidence from a quasi-natural experiment," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 64(C).
    14. Yen, Ju-Fang & Chen, Yan-Shing & Shen, Chung-Hua & Lin, Chih-Yung, 2014. "Why do firms allow their CEOs to join trade associations? An embeddedness view," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 32(C), pages 47-61.
    15. Bill Francis & Iftekhar Hasan & Michael Koetter & Qiang Wu, 2012. "Corporate Boards And Bank Loan Contracting," Journal of Financial Research, Southern Finance Association;Southwestern Finance Association, vol. 35(4), pages 521-552, December.
    16. Bill Francis & Iftekhar Hasan & Michael Koetter & Qiang Wu, 2012. "Corporate Boards And Bank Loan Contracting," Journal of Financial Research, Southern Finance Association;Southwestern Finance Association, vol. 35(4), pages 521-552, December.
    17. repec:zbw:bofrdp:2012_014 is not listed on IDEAS
    18. Sung C. Bae & Kiyoung Chang & Ha-Chin Yi, 2018. "Corporate social responsibility, credit rating, and private debt contracting: new evidence from syndicated loan market," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 50(1), pages 261-299, January.
    19. Rahaman, Mohammad M. & Zaman, Ashraf Al, 2013. "Management quality and the cost of debt: Does management matter to lenders?," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 37(3), pages 854-874.
    20. Wang, Lu & Su, Zhong-qin & Fung, Hung-Gay & Jin, Hong-min & Xiao, Zuoping, 2021. "Do CEOs with academic experience add value to firms? Evidence on bank loans from Chinese firms," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 67(C).
    21. Godlewski, Christophe J., 2020. "How legal and institutional environments shape the private debt renegotiation process?," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 62(C).

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Managerial ability; The cost of debt; Agency and information risk; Corporate governance; Stakeholder relationship;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • G21 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - Banks; Other Depository Institutions; Micro Finance Institutions; Mortgages
    • G34 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Mergers; Acquisitions; Restructuring; Corporate Governance

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:jbfina:v:87:y:2018:i:c:p:187-201. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/jbf .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.