IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/riibaf/v70y2024ipbs0275531924001703.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Covenant-lite agreement and credit risk: A key relationship in the leveraged loan market

Author

Listed:
  • De Novellis, G.
  • Musile Tanzi, P.
  • Stanghellini, E.

Abstract

In recent years, the leveraged loan market has experienced considerable growth, with the covenant-lite loan being the predominant agreement. The goal of this research is to assess whether the covenant-lite type reduces or increases the probability of default. Mediation analysis allows us to decompose the effect of balance sheet indicators on a default event into direct and indirect effects, the latter mediated by the covenant-lite. Results show that the covenant-lite is granted to borrowers with a greater profitability. In turn, all other conditions being equal, this agreement plays a role in making a default event less likely, giving rise to a significant indirect effect.

Suggested Citation

  • De Novellis, G. & Musile Tanzi, P. & Stanghellini, E., 2024. "Covenant-lite agreement and credit risk: A key relationship in the leveraged loan market," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 70(PB).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:riibaf:v:70:y:2024:i:pb:s0275531924001703
    DOI: 10.1016/j.ribaf.2024.102377
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0275531924001703
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.ribaf.2024.102377?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. Morais, Flávio & Serrasqueiro, Zélia & Ramalho, Joaquim J.S., 2022. "Capital structure speed of adjustment heterogeneity across zero leverage and leveraged European firms," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 62(C).
    2. Giannetti, Mariassunta & Laeven, Luc, 2012. "The flight home effect: Evidence from the syndicated loan market during financial crises," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 104(1), pages 23-43.
    3. Victoria Ivashina & Boris Vallee, 2020. "Weak Credit Covenants," NBER Working Papers 27316, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    4. Becker, Bo & Ivashina, Victoria, 2016. "Covenant-Light Contracts And Creditor Coordination," Working Paper Series 325, Sveriges Riksbank (Central Bank of Sweden).
    5. Billett, Matthew T. & Elkamhi, Redouane & Popov, Latchezar & Pungaliya, Raunaq S., 2016. "Bank Skin in the Game and Loan Contract Design: Evidence from Covenant-Lite Loans," Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 51(3), pages 839-873, June.
    6. Berlin, Mitchell & Nini, Greg & Yu, Edison G., 2020. "Concentration of control rights in leveraged loan syndicates," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 137(1), pages 249-271.
    7. Max Bruche & Frederic Malherbe & Ralf R Meisenzahl, 2020. "Pipeline Risk in Leveraged Loan Syndication," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 33(12), pages 5660-5705.
    8. 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.
    9. Lim, Jongha & Minton, Bernadette A. & Weisbach, Michael S., 2014. "Syndicated loan spreads and the composition of the syndicate," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 111(1), pages 45-69.
    10. Lemmon, Michael L. & Zender, Jaime F., 2019. "Asymmetric Information, Debt Capacity, and Capital Structure," Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 54(1), pages 31-59, February.
    11. Gus De Franco & Florin P. Vasvari & Dushyantkumar Vyas & Regina Wittenberg-Moerman, 2020. "Similarity in the Restrictiveness of Bond Covenants," European Accounting Review, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 29(4), pages 665-691, July.
    12. Leland, Hayne E & Pyle, David H, 1977. "Informational Asymmetries, Financial Structure, and Financial Intermediation," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 32(2), pages 371-387, May.
    13. Ferrando, Annalisa & Gori, Sofia, 2022. "Financing conditions through the lens of euro area companies," Economic Bulletin Boxes, European Central Bank, vol. 8.
    14. Nicoletti, Giulio & Setzer, Ralph & Tujula, Mika & Welz, Peter, 2022. "Assessing corporate vulnerabilities in the euro area," Economic Bulletin Articles, European Central Bank, vol. 2.
    15. Peter R. Demerjian, 2017. "Uncertainty and debt covenants," Review of Accounting Studies, Springer, vol. 22(3), pages 1156-1197, September.
    16. 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.
    17. Nini, Greg & Smith, David C. & Sufi, Amir, 2009. "Creditor control rights and firm investment policy," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 92(3), pages 400-420, June.
    18. Saona, Paolo & Muro, Laura & Gregoriou, Andros, 2023. "The phenomenon of zero-leverage policy: Literature review," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 66(C).
    19. Cao, Mengyi & Xia, Qing, 2021. "Trust and use of covenants," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 57(C).
    20. Correia, Maria do Rosário, 2008. "The choice of maturity and additional covenants in debt contracts: A panel data approach," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 22(3), pages 284-300, September.
    21. Diamond, Douglas W, 1991. "Monitoring and Reputation: The Choice between Bank Loans and Directly Placed Debt," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 99(4), pages 689-721, August.
    22. David Newton & Steven Ongena & Ru Xie & Binru Zhao, 2020. "Leveraged Loans: Is High Leverage Risk Priced in?," Swiss Finance Institute Research Paper Series 20-111, Swiss Finance Institute.
    23. Crone, Sven F. & Finlay, Steven, 2012. "Instance sampling in credit scoring: An empirical study of sample size and balancing," International Journal of Forecasting, Elsevier, vol. 28(1), pages 224-238.
    24. Goodell, John W., 2020. "COVID-19 and finance: Agendas for future research," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 35(C).
    25. Cai, Jian & Eidam, Frederik & Saunders, Anthony & Steffen, Sascha, 2018. "Syndication, interconnectedness, and systemic risk," Journal of Financial Stability, Elsevier, vol. 34(C), pages 105-120.
    26. 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.
    27. DeFond, Mark L. & Jiambalvo, James, 1994. "Debt covenant violation and manipulation of accruals," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 17(1-2), pages 145-176, January.
    28. De Novellis, G. & Musile Tanzi, P. & Ranalli, M.G. & Stanghellini, E., 2024. "Leveraged finance exposure in the banking system: Systemic risk and interconnectedness," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 90(C).
    29. Michael R. Roberts & Amir Sufi, 2009. "Control Rights and Capital Structure: An Empirical Investigation," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 64(4), pages 1657-1695, August.
    30. Bosch, Oliver & Steffen, Sascha, 2011. "On syndicate composition, corporate structure and the certification effect of credit ratings," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 35(2), pages 290-299, February.
    31. Fiordelisi, Franco & Marqués-Ibañez, David, 2013. "Is bank default risk systematic?," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 37(6), pages 2000-2010.
    32. Tampakoudis, Ioannis & Noulas, Athanasios & Kiosses, Nikolaos, 2022. "The market reaction to syndicated loan announcements before and during the COVID-19 pandemic and the role of corporate governance," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 60(C).
    33. Crook, Jonathan N. & Edelman, David B. & Thomas, Lyn C., 2007. "Recent developments in consumer credit risk assessment," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 183(3), pages 1447-1465, December.
    34. Crouhy, Michel & Galai, Dan & Mark, Robert, 2000. "A comparative analysis of current credit risk models," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 24(1-2), pages 59-117, January.
    35. Emmanuel O. Ogundimu, 2019. "Prediction of default probability by using statistical models for rare events," Journal of the Royal Statistical Society Series A, Royal Statistical Society, vol. 182(4), pages 1143-1162, October.
    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. De Novellis, G. & Musile Tanzi, P. & Ranalli, M.G. & Stanghellini, E., 2024. "Leveraged finance exposure in the banking system: Systemic risk and interconnectedness," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 90(C).
    2. Gustafson, Matthew T. & Ivanov, Ivan T. & Meisenzahl, Ralf R., 2021. "Bank monitoring: Evidence from syndicated loans," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 139(2), pages 452-477.
    3. Kang, Di & Zhuang, Zhuang, 2019. "Should companies care who their lender is? Evidence from loan covenants," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 57(C).
    4. Wenlian Gao & Feifei Zhu & Kai Chen, 2023. "The role of bank lenders in firm leverage adjustments," Journal of Financial Research, Southern Finance Association;Southwestern Finance Association, vol. 46(1), pages 63-97, February.
    5. Kiyoung Chang & Ying Li & Ha‐Chin Yi, 2021. "Informed equity ownership and bank loan contracting," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 48(7-8), pages 1368-1403, July.
    6. Isin, Adnan Anil, 2018. "Tax avoidance and cost of debt: The case for loan-specific risk mitigation and public debt financing," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 49(C), pages 344-378.
    7. Christophe J. Godlewski & Bulat Sanditov, 2018. "Financial Institutions Network and the Certification Value of Bank Loans," Financial Management, Financial Management Association International, vol. 47(2), pages 253-283, June.
    8. Godlewski, Christophe J., 2014. "Bank loans and borrower value during the global financial crisis: Empirical evidence from France," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 28(C), pages 100-130.
    9. Engelberg, Joseph & Gao, Pengjie & Parsons, Christopher A., 2012. "Friends with money," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 103(1), pages 169-188.
    10. Freudenberg, Felix & Imbierowicz, Björn & Saunders, Anthony & Steffen, Sascha, 2017. "Covenant violations and dynamic loan contracting," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 45(C), pages 540-565.
    11. Gurara, Daniel & Presbitero, Andrea & Sarmiento, Miguel, 2020. "Borrowing costs and the role of multilateral development banks: Evidence from cross-border syndicated bank lending," Journal of International Money and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 100(C).
    12. 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).
    13. Xu Chong Bo & Wenyi Li & Jing Shi & Yi Zheng & Qing Zhou, 2021. "Relationship lending and bank loan covenant violations," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 61(4), pages 5847-5878, December.
    14. Chao‐Jung Chen & Wen He & Chien‐Ju Lu & Xin Yu, 2022. "Bank loan covenants, accrual quality and firms’ information environment," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 62(1), pages 547-575, March.
    15. Gopalakrishnan, Balagopal & Mohapatra, Sanket, 2019. "Diversified Syndicate Structure and Loan Spreads for Non-U.S. Firms," MPRA Paper 96297, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    16. Amir Kermani & Yueran Ma, 2020. "Two Tales of Debt," NBER Working Papers 27641, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    17. Yildirim, Alev, 2020. "The effect of relationship banking on firm efficiency and default risk," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 65(C).
    18. Ryan Ball & Robert M. Bushman & Florin P. Vasvari, 2008. "The Debt‐Contracting Value of Accounting Information and Loan Syndicate Structure," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 46(2), pages 247-287, May.
    19. Sharjil M. Haque & Simon Mayer & Teng Wang, 2024. "How Private Equity Fuels Non-Bank Lending," Finance and Economics Discussion Series 2024-015, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (U.S.).
    20. Chy, Mahfuz & Kyung, Hoyoun, 2023. "The effect of bond market transparency on bank loan contracting," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 75(2).

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Covenant-lite agreement; Credit risk; Leveraged loans; Syndicated loans; Mediation analysis;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • F34 - International Economics - - International Finance - - - International Lending and Debt Problems
    • G01 - Financial Economics - - General - - - Financial Crises
    • G21 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - Banks; Other Depository Institutions; Micro Finance Institutions; Mortgages
    • G23 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - Non-bank Financial Institutions; Financial Instruments; Institutional Investors
    • G24 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - Investment Banking; Venture Capital; Brokerage
    • C3 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Multiple or Simultaneous Equation Models; Multiple Variables

    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:70:y:2024:i:pb:s0275531924001703. 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.