IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/riibaf/v62y2022ics0275531922001374.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Pandemic effect on corporate financial asset holdings: Precautionary or return-chasing?

Author

Listed:
  • Gao, Haoyu
  • Wen, Huiyu
  • Wang, Xingjian

Abstract

This study empirically investigates whether and how the COVID-19 pandemic affects corporate financial asset holdings. We find that firms with higher pandemic exposure are less likely to hold financial assets. Mechanism analyses suggest that the return-chasing rationale dominates the precautionary motive concerning the pandemic effect on corporate financial asset holdings. Furthermore, firms prefer to liquidate highly liquid financial assets to fill the pandemic-induced liquidity shortage. This study contributes to the economic consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic regarding corporate portfolio choice, and sheds light on corporate resilience to crises.

Suggested Citation

  • Gao, Haoyu & Wen, Huiyu & Wang, Xingjian, 2022. "Pandemic effect on corporate financial asset holdings: Precautionary or return-chasing?," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 62(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:riibaf:v:62:y:2022:i:c:s0275531922001374
    DOI: 10.1016/j.ribaf.2022.101750
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0275531922001374
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.ribaf.2022.101750?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. Rüdiger Fahlenbrach & Kevin Rageth & René M Stulz, 2021. "How Valuable Is Financial Flexibility when Revenue Stops? Evidence from the COVID-19 Crisis [The risk of being a fallen angel and the corporate dash for cash in the midst of COVID]," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 34(11), pages 5474-5521.
    2. Thomas W. Bates & Kathleen M. Kahle & René M. Stulz, 2009. "Why Do U.S. Firms Hold So Much More Cash than They Used To?," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 64(5), pages 1985-2021, October.
    3. Demir, FIrat, 2009. "Financial liberalization, private investment and portfolio choice: Financialization of real sectors in emerging markets," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 88(2), pages 314-324, March.
    4. Allen, Franklin & Qian, Jun & Qian, Meijun, 2005. "Law, finance, and economic growth in China," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 77(1), pages 57-116, July.
    5. Haoyu Gao & Huiyu Wen & Shujiaming Yu, 2021. "Pandemic Effect on Analyst Forecast Dispersion: Earnings Uncertainty or Information Lockdown?," Emerging Markets Finance and Trade, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 57(6), pages 1699-1715, May.
    6. Zhang, Chengsi & Zheng, Ning, 2020. "The financial investment decision of non-financial firms in China," The North American Journal of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 53(C).
    7. Huang, Jialin & Luo, Yu & Peng, Yuchao, 2021. "Corporate financial asset holdings under economic policy uncertainty: Precautionary saving or speculating?," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 76(C), pages 1359-1378.
    8. Favara, Giovanni & Gao, Janet & Giannetti, Mariassunta, 2021. "Uncertainty, access to debt, and firm precautionary behavior," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 141(2), pages 436-453.
    9. Allen, Franklin & Qian, Yiming & Tu, Guoqian & Yu, Frank, 2019. "Entrusted loans: A close look at China's shadow banking system," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 133(1), pages 18-41.
    10. Ozkan, Oktay, 2021. "Impact of COVID-19 on stock market efficiency: Evidence from developed countries," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 58(C).
    11. David J. Denis & Valeriy Sibilkov, 2010. "Financial Constraints, Investment, and the Value of Cash Holdings," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 23(1), pages 247-269, January.
    12. Jarrad Harford & Sandy Klasa & William F. Maxwell, 2014. "Refinancing Risk and Cash Holdings," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 69(3), pages 975-1012, June.
    13. Berger, Allen N. & Guedhami, Omrane & Kim, Hugh H. & Li, Xinming, 2022. "Economic policy uncertainty and bank liquidity hoarding," Journal of Financial Intermediation, Elsevier, vol. 49(C).
    14. Berger, Allen N. & Demirgüç-Kunt, Asli, 2021. "Banking research in the time of COVID-19," Journal of Financial Stability, Elsevier, vol. 57(C).
    15. Du, Julan & Li, Chang & Wang, Yongqin, 2017. "A comparative study of shadow banking activities of non-financial firms in transition economies," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 46(S), pages 35-49.
    16. Niels Joachim Gormsen & Ralph S J Koijen & Nikolai Roussanov, 0. "Coronavirus: Impact on Stock Prices and Growth Expectations," The Review of Asset Pricing Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 10(4), pages 574-597.
    17. Hassan, Tarek & Hollander, Stephan & van Lent, Laurence & Schwedeler, Markus & Tahoun, Ahmed, 2020. "Firm-Level Exposure to Epidemic Diseases: Covid-19, SARS, and H1N1," CEPR Discussion Papers 14573, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    18. Barry, John W. & Campello, Murillo & Graham, John R. & Ma, Yueran, 2022. "Corporate flexibility in a time of crisis," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 144(3), pages 780-806.
    19. Hu, Shiwei & Zhang, Yuyao, 2021. "COVID-19 pandemic and firm performance: Cross-country evidence," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 74(C), pages 365-372.
    20. Brandon Julio & Youngsuk Yook, 2012. "Political Uncertainty and Corporate Investment Cycles," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 67(1), pages 45-84, February.
    21. Scott R. Baker & Nicholas Bloom & Steven J. Davis & Kyle J. Kost & Marco C. Sammon & Tasaneeya Viratyosin, 2020. "The Unprecedented Stock Market Impact of COVID-19," NBER Working Papers 26945, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    22. Duan, Yuejiao & El Ghoul, Sadok & Guedhami, Omrane & Li, Haoran & Li, Xinming, 2021. "Bank systemic risk around COVID-19: A cross-country analysis," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 133(C).
    23. Buchheim, Lukas & Dovern, Jonas & Krolage, Carla & Link, Sebastian, 2022. "Sentiment and firm behavior during the COVID-19 pandemic," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 195(C), pages 186-198.
    24. Ding, Wenzhi & Levine, Ross & Lin, Chen & Xie, Wensi, 2021. "Corporate immunity to the COVID-19 pandemic," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 141(2), pages 802-830.
    25. John W. Barry & Murillo Campello & John Graham & Yueran Ma, 2022. "Corporate Flexibility in a Time of Crisis," NBER Working Papers 29746, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    26. Goodell, John W. & Huynh, Toan Luu Duc, 2020. "Did Congress trade ahead? Considering the reaction of US industries to COVID-19," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 36(C).
    27. Viral V Acharya & Sascha Steffen, 2020. "The Risk of Being a Fallen Angel and the Corporate Dash for Cash in the Midst of COVID," The Review of Corporate Finance Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 9(3), pages 430-471.
    28. Li, Kai & Liu, Xing & Mai, Feng & Zhang, Tengfei, 2021. "The Role of Corporate Culture in Bad Times: Evidence from the COVID-19 Pandemic," Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 56(7), pages 2545-2583, November.
    29. Guanchun Liu & Jun Zhang & Huihang Wu & Yuchao Peng, 2019. "Financial Asset Allocations and R&D Activities: Evidence from China’s Listed Companies," Emerging Markets Finance and Trade, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 55(3), pages 531-544, February.
    30. Xiuhong Qin & Guoliang Huang & Huayu Shen & Mengyao Fu, 2020. "COVID-19 Pandemic and Firm-level Cash Holding—Moderating Effect of Goodwill and Goodwill Impairment," Emerging Markets Finance and Trade, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 56(10), pages 2243-2258, August.
    31. Tang, Huoqing & Zhang, Chengsi, 2019. "Investment risk, return gap, and financialization of non-listed non-financial firms in China⁎," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 58(C).
    32. Zhang, Chengsi & Zheng, Ning, 2020. "Monetary policy and financial investments of nonfinancial firms: New evidence from China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 60(C).
    33. Guofu Tan & Justin Yifu Lin, 1999. "Policy Burdens, Accountability, and the Soft Budget Constraint," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 89(2), pages 426-431, May.
    34. Javadi, Siamak & Masum, Abdullah-Al, 2021. "The impact of climate change on the cost of bank loans," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 69(C).
    35. Eleanor J. Murray, 2020. "Epidemiology's Time of Need: COVID-19 Calls for Epidemic-Related Economics," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 34(4), pages 105-120, Fall.
    36. repec:bla:jfinan:v:59:y:2004:i:4:p:1777-1804 is not listed on IDEAS
    37. Cejnek, Georg & Randl, Otto & Zechner, Josef, 2021. "The COVID-19 Pandemic and Corporate Dividend Policy," Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 56(7), pages 2389-2410, November.
    38. Zaremba, Adam & Aharon, David Y. & Demir, Ender & Kizys, Renatas & Zawadka, Dariusz, 2021. "COVID-19, government policy responses, and stock market liquidity around the world: A note," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 56(C).
    39. Baris Kocaarslan & Ugur Soytas, 2021. "The Asymmetric Impact of Funding Liquidity Risk on the Volatility of Stock Portfolios during the COVID-19 Crisis," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(4), pages 1-12, February.
    40. Levine, Ross & Lin, Chen & Xie, Wensi, 2018. "Corporate Resilience to Banking Crises: The Roles of Trust and Trade Credit," Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 53(4), pages 1441-1477, August.
    41. Hu, Yitong & Li, Xiao & Goodell, John W. & Shen, Dehua, 2021. "Investor attention shocks and stock co-movement: Substitution or reinforcement?," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 73(C).
    42. Ran Duchin & Thomas Gilbert & Jarrad Harford & Christopher Hrdlicka, 2017. "Precautionary Savings with Risky Assets: When Cash Is Not Cash," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 72(2), pages 793-852, April.
    43. Goodell, John W., 2020. "COVID-19 and finance: Agendas for future research," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 35(C).
    44. Igor Cunha & Joshua Pollet & David Denis, 2020. "Why Do Firms Hold Cash? Evidence from Demographic Demand Shifts," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 33(9), pages 4102-4138.
    45. Ashraf, Badar Nadeem, 2020. "Stock markets’ reaction to COVID-19: Cases or fatalities?," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 54(C).
    46. Steven N. Kaplan & Luigi Zingales, 1997. "Do Investment-Cash Flow Sensitivities Provide Useful Measures of Financing Constraints?," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 112(1), pages 169-215.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Du, Jiayue & Gao, Haoyu & Wen, Huiyu & Ye, Yanyi, 2024. "Public data acces and stock price synchronicity: Evidence from China," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 130(C).
    2. Shi, Xiaohua & Zhi, Mingxing, 2023. "Managerial overconfidence and enterprise shadow banking," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 58(PB).
    3. Ye, Yanyi & Wang, Hongping & Tian, Kailan & Li, Meng, 2024. "Supply chain risks and the cost of debt: Evidence from the COVID-19 pandemic," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 70(PB).
    4. Han, Haozhe & Wang, Xingjian, 2023. "Monetary policy uncertainty and corporate cash holdings: Evidence from China," Journal of Financial Stability, Elsevier, vol. 67(C).
    5. Wu, Kai & Lu, Yufei, 2023. "Corporate digital transformation and financialization: Evidence from Chinese listed firms," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 57(C).

    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. Demir, Ender & Danisman, Gamze Ozturk, 2021. "Banking sector reactions to COVID-19: The role of bank-specific factors and government policy responses," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 58(C).
    2. Aharon, David Y. & Siev, Smadar, 2021. "COVID-19, government interventions and emerging capital markets performance," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 58(C).
    3. Yarovaya, Larisa & Brzeszczyński, Janusz & Goodell, John W. & Lucey, Brian & Lau, Chi Keung Marco, 2022. "Rethinking financial contagion: Information transmission mechanism during the COVID-19 pandemic," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 79(C).
    4. Zaremba, Adam & Kizys, Renatas & Tzouvanas, Panagiotis & Aharon, David Y. & Demir, Ender, 2021. "The quest for multidimensional financial immunity to the COVID-19 pandemic: Evidence from international stock markets," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 71(C).
    5. Xue, Shengxi & Cao, Taiyun & Yu, Qianqian & Liu, Yuanyuan, 2024. "Clan culture and corporate cash holdings: Are private companies supported by informal institutions?," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 86(C).
    6. Omrane Guedhami & April Knill & William L. Megginson & Lemma W. Senbet, 2022. "The dark side of globalization: Evidence from the impact of COVID-19 on multinational companies," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 53(8), pages 1603-1640, October.
    7. Marco Pagano & Josef Zechner, 2022. "COVID-19 and Corporate Finance [The risk of being a fallen angel and the corporate dash for cash in the midst of COVID]," The Review of Corporate Finance Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 11(4), pages 849-879.
    8. Huang, Jialin & Luo, Yu & Peng, Yuchao, 2021. "Corporate financial asset holdings under economic policy uncertainty: Precautionary saving or speculating?," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 76(C), pages 1359-1378.
    9. Cakici, Nusret & Zaremba, Adam, 2021. "Who should be afraid of infections? Pandemic exposure and the cross-section of stock returns," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 72(C).
    10. Elham Daadmehr, 2024. "Workplace sustainability or financial resilience? Composite-financial resilience index," Risk Management, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 26(2), pages 1-35, May.
    11. Han, Haozhe & Wang, Xingjian, 2023. "Monetary policy uncertainty and corporate cash holdings: Evidence from China," Journal of Financial Stability, Elsevier, vol. 67(C).
    12. Xue, Lixing & Chen, Chong & Wang, Na & Zhang, Lirong, 2023. "Gambling culture and corporate financialization: Evidence from China's welfare lottery sales," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 78(C).
    13. Tetyana Balyuk & Nagpurnanand R. Prabhala & Manju Puri, 2020. "Indirect Costs of Government Aid and Intermediary Supply Effects: Lessons From the Paycheck Protection Program," NBER Working Papers 28114, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    14. Chung, Hae Jin & Jhang, Hogyu & Ryu, Doojin, 2023. "Impacts of COVID-19 pandemic on corporate cash holdings: Evidence from Korea," Emerging Markets Review, Elsevier, vol. 56(C).
    15. Gao, Haoyu & Li, Jinxuan & Wen, Huiyu, 2023. "Bank funding costs during the COVID-19 pandemic: Evidence from China," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 79(C).
    16. Gu, Leilei & Liu, Zhongyang & Ma, Sichao & Wang, Hongyu, 2022. "Social trust and corporate financial asset holdings: Evidence from China," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 82(C).
    17. Ting Feng & Zhongyi Xue, 2023. "The impact of government subsidies on corporate resilience: evidence from the COVID-19 shock," Economic Change and Restructuring, Springer, vol. 56(6), pages 4199-4221, December.
    18. Roddy Allan & Ervi Liusman & Teddy Lu & Desmond Tsang, 2021. "The COVID-19 Pandemic and Commercial Property Rent Dynamics," JRFM, MDPI, vol. 14(8), pages 1-24, August.
    19. Duong, Huu Nhan & Nguyen, Justin Hung & Nguyen, My & Rhee, S. Ghon, 2020. "Navigating through economic policy uncertainty: The role of corporate cash holdings," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 62(C).
    20. Liu, Ya & Qiu, Buhui & Wang, Teng, 2021. "Debt rollover risk, credit default swap spread and stock returns: Evidence from the COVID-19 crisis," Journal of Financial Stability, Elsevier, vol. 53(C).

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Financial asset holdings; COVID-19 pandemic; Precautionary; Return-chasing; Portfolio choice;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • G31 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Capital Budgeting; Fixed Investment and Inventory Studies
    • G32 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Financing Policy; Financial Risk and Risk Management; Capital and Ownership Structure; Value of Firms; Goodwill
    • G34 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Mergers; Acquisitions; Restructuring; Corporate Governance
    • G38 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Government Policy and Regulation
    • M41 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Accounting - - - Accounting

    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:riibaf:v:62:y:2022:i:c:s0275531922001374. 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/ribaf .

    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.