IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/inm/ormnsc/v68y2022i3p2069-2097.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Credit Default Swaps and Debt Overhang

Author

Listed:
  • Tak-Yuen Wong

    (Department of Quantitative Finance, National Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu 300044, Taiwan)

  • Jin Yu

    (Department of Banking and Finance, Monash Business School, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria 3145, Australia)

Abstract

We analyze the impact of credit default swaps (CDSs) trading on firm investment, long-term debt financing, and valuation. In our model, the firm is endowed with a real option to initiate a project and enhance its future growth. Its creditors have access to CDS contracts that hedge them against default losses. We show that CDS protection increases the firm’s pledgable income: that is, the maximum amount of debt it can raise. However, at the same time CDS protection decreases asset growth and impedes project initiation. As a result, CDS trading could reduce firm value, and the negative effects are stronger when the firm is riskier, where shareholders have stronger bargaining power, and growth opportunities are less valuable. Using simulated cross-sections of firms, we find that CDS trading increases corporate default rates and deters investment. Altogether, CDS firms tend to have a lower firm value and more volatile equity returns than non-CDS firms.

Suggested Citation

  • Tak-Yuen Wong & Jin Yu, 2022. "Credit Default Swaps and Debt Overhang," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 68(3), pages 2069-2097, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:inm:ormnsc:v:68:y:2022:i:3:p:2069-2097
    DOI: 10.1287/mnsc.2020.3953
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.2020.3953
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1287/mnsc.2020.3953?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
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Douglas W. Diamond & Zhiguo He, 2014. "A Theory of Debt Maturity: The Long and Short of Debt Overhang," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 69(2), pages 719-762, April.
    2. Christopher A. Hennessy & Toni M. Whited, 2007. "How Costly Is External Financing? Evidence from a Structural Estimation," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 62(4), pages 1705-1745, August.
    3. Giesecke, Kay & Longstaff, Francis A. & Schaefer, Stephen & Strebulaev, Ilya, 2011. "Corporate bond default risk: A 150-year perspective," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 102(2), pages 233-250.
    4. Patrick Augustin & Marti G. Subrahmanyam & Dragon Y. Tang & Sarah Q. Wang, 2016. "Credit Default Swaps: Past, Present, and Future," Annual Review of Financial Economics, Annual Reviews, vol. 8(1), pages 175-196, October.
    5. Chang, Xin & Chen, Yangyang & Wang, Sarah Qian & Zhang, Kuo & Zhang, Wenrui, 2019. "Credit default swaps and corporate innovation," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 134(2), pages 474-500.
    6. Hui Chen, 2010. "Macroeconomic Conditions and the Puzzles of Credit Spreads and Capital Structure," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 65(6), pages 2171-2212, December.
    7. Suresh Sundaresan & Neng Wang, 2007. "Investment under Uncertainty with Strategic Debt Service," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 97(2), pages 256-261, May.
    8. Mella-Barral, Pierre & Perraudin, William, 1997. "Strategic Debt Service," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 52(2), pages 531-556, June.
    9. Parlour, Christine A. & Winton, Andrew, 2013. "Laying off credit risk: Loan sales versus credit default swaps," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 107(1), pages 25-45.
    10. Leland, Hayne E, 1994. "Corporate Debt Value, Bond Covenants, and Optimal Capital Structure," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 49(4), pages 1213-1252, September.
    11. Erwan Morellec & Boris Nikolov & Norman Schürhoff, 2012. "Corporate Governance and Capital Structure Dynamics," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 67(3), pages 803-848, June.
    12. Hirtle, Beverly, 2009. "Credit derivatives and bank credit supply," Journal of Financial Intermediation, Elsevier, vol. 18(2), pages 125-150, April.
    13. Narayanan, Rajesh & Uzmanoglu, Cihan, 2018. "Credit Default Swaps and Firm Value," Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 53(3), pages 1227-1259, June.
    14. Suresh Sundaresan & Neng Wang & Jinqiang Yang, 2015. "Dynamic Investment, Capital Structure, and Debt Overhang," The Review of Corporate Finance Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 4(1), pages 1-42.
    15. Ilya A. Strebulaev, 2007. "Do Tests of Capital Structure Theory Mean What They Say?," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 62(4), pages 1747-1787, August.
    16. Dirk Hackbarth & Christopher A. Hennessy & Hayne E. Leland, 2007. "Can the Trade-off Theory Explain Debt Structure?," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 20(5), pages 1389-1428, 2007 04.
    17. Bhamra, Harjoat S. & Shim, Kyung Hwan, 2017. "Stochastic idiosyncratic cash flow risk and real options: Implications for stock returns," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 168(C), pages 400-431.
    18. Fan, Hua & Sundaresan, Suresh M, 2000. "Debt Valuation, Renegotiation, and Optimal Dividend Policy," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 13(4), pages 1057-1099.
    19. Myers, Stewart C., 1977. "Determinants of corporate borrowing," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 5(2), pages 147-175, November.
    20. Ana Fostel & John Geanakoplos, 2016. "Financial Innovation, Collateral, and Investment," American Economic Journal: Macroeconomics, American Economic Association, vol. 8(1), pages 242-284, January.
    21. Mascia Bedendo & Lara Cathcart & Lina El‐Jahel, 2016. "Distressed Debt Restructuring in the Presence of Credit Default Swaps," Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 48(1), pages 165-201, February.
    22. Marti G. Subrahmanyam & Dragon Yongjun Tang & Sarah Qian Wang, 2014. "Does the Tail Wag the Dog?: The Effect of Credit Default Swaps on Credit Risk," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 27(10), pages 2927-2960.
    23. Hui Chen & Gustavo Manso, 2017. "Macroeconomic Risk and Debt Overhang," The Review of Corporate Finance Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 6(1), pages 1-38.
    24. John R. Graham, 2000. "How Big Are the Tax Benefits of Debt?," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 55(5), pages 1901-1941, October.
    25. Patrick Bolton & Martin Oehmke, 2011. "Credit Default Swaps and the Empty Creditor Problem," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 24(8), pages 2617-2655.
    26. Robert McDonald & Daniel Siegel, 1986. "The Value of Waiting to Invest," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 101(4), pages 707-727.
    27. Martin Oehmke & Adam Zawadowski, 2015. "Synthetic or Real? The Equilibrium Effects of Credit Default Swaps on Bond Markets," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 28(12), pages 3303-3337.
    28. repec:bla:jfinan:v:44:y:1989:i:1:p:19-40 is not listed on IDEAS
    29. Ashcraft, Adam B. & Santos, João A.C., 2009. "Has the CDS market lowered the cost of corporate debt?," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 56(4), pages 514-523, May.
    30. repec:bla:jfinan:v:59:y:2004:i:4:p:1717-1742 is not listed on IDEAS
    31. Colonnello, Stefano & Efing, Matthias & Zucchi, Francesca, 2019. "Shareholder bargaining power and the emergence of empty creditors," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 134(2), pages 297-317.
    32. Pawlina, Grzegorz, 2010. "Underinvestment, capital structure and strategic debt restructuring," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 16(5), pages 679-702, December.
    33. Danis, András & Gamba, Andrea, 2018. "The real effects of credit default swaps," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 127(1), pages 51-76.
    34. András Danis, 2017. "Do Empty Creditors Matter? Evidence from Distressed Exchange Offers," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 63(5), pages 1285-1301, May.
    35. Alessio Saretto & Heather E. Tookes, 2013. "Corporate Leverage, Debt Maturity, and Credit Supply: The Role of Credit Default Swaps," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 26(5), pages 1190-1247.
    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. Gan, Liu & Yang, Zhaojun, 2024. "Financial decisions involving credit default swaps over the business cycle," Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Elsevier, vol. 161(C).
    2. Gan, Liu & Xia, Xin & Xu, Wenyang & Zhang, Hai, 2024. "Convertible bond maturity and debt overhang," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 95(PB).
    3. Wang, Yuan & Xing, Chao & Zhang, Luxiu, 2024. "Is greenwashing beneficial for corporate access to financing? Evidence from China," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 65(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. Gan, Liu & Yang, Zhaojun, 2024. "Financial decisions involving credit default swaps over the business cycle," Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Elsevier, vol. 161(C).
    2. Söhnke M Bartram & Jennifer Conrad & Jongsub Lee & Marti G Subrahmanyam, 2022. "Credit Default Swaps around the World," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 35(5), pages 2464-2524.
    3. Gan, Liu & Xia, Xin & Zhang, Hai, 2022. "Debt structure and debt overhang," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 74(C).
    4. Strebulaev, Ilya A. & Whited, Toni M., 2012. "Dynamic Models and Structural Estimation in Corporate Finance," Foundations and Trends(R) in Finance, now publishers, vol. 6(1–2), pages 1-163, November.
    5. Hans Degryse & Yalin Gündüz & Kuchulain O'Flynn & Steven Ongena, 2020. "Identifying Empty Creditors with a Shock and Micro-Data," Swiss Finance Institute Research Paper Series 20-15, Swiss Finance Institute.
    6. Pawlina, Grzegorz, 2010. "Underinvestment, capital structure and strategic debt restructuring," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 16(5), pages 679-702, December.
    7. Colonnello, Stefano & Efing, Matthias & Zucchi, Francesca, 2019. "Shareholder bargaining power and the emergence of empty creditors," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 134(2), pages 297-317.
    8. Augustin, Patrick & Subrahmanyam, Marti G. & Tang, Dragon Yongjun & Wang, Sarah Qian, 2014. "Credit Default Swaps: A Survey," Foundations and Trends(R) in Finance, now publishers, vol. 9(1-2), pages 1-196, December.
    9. Li, Jay Y. & Tang, Dragon Yongjun, 2022. "Product market competition with CDS," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 73(C).
    10. Rajesh Narayanan & Cihan Uzmanoglu, 2018. "Credit Insurance, Distress Resolution Costs, and Bond Spreads," Financial Management, Financial Management Association International, vol. 47(4), pages 931-951, December.
    11. Colonnello, Stefano, 2017. "Internal governance and creditor governance: Evidence from credit default swaps," IWH Discussion Papers 6/2017, Halle Institute for Economic Research (IWH).
    12. Caglio, Cecilia & Darst, R. Matthew & Parolin, Eric, 2019. "Half-full or half-empty? Financial institutions, CDS use, and corporate credit risk," Journal of Financial Intermediation, Elsevier, vol. 40(C).
    13. Osano, Hiroshi, 2020. "Credit default swaps and market information," Journal of Financial Markets, Elsevier, vol. 48(C).
    14. Guthrie, Graeme, 2024. "Farm debt and the over-exploitation of natural capital," Resource and Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 77(C).
    15. Hwang Hee Lee & Frederick Dongchuhl Oh, 2022. "The role of credit default swaps in determining corporate payout policy," Financial Management, Financial Management Association International, vol. 51(2), pages 635-661, June.
    16. Antill, Samuel & Grenadier, Steven R., 2019. "Optimal capital structure and bankruptcy choice: Dynamic bargaining versus liquidation," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 133(1), pages 198-224.
    17. Nishihara, Michi & Shibata, Takashi, 2016. "Asset sale, debt restructuring, and liquidation," Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Elsevier, vol. 67(C), pages 73-92.
    18. Ramona Westermann, 2018. "Measuring Agency Costs over the Business Cycle," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 64(12), pages 5748-5768, December.
    19. Oehmke, Martin & Zawadowski, Adam, 2016. "The anatomy of the CDS market," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 118964, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    20. Clark, Brian & Donato, James & Francis, Bill B & Shohfi, Thomas D, 2023. "Bank loan renegotiation and credit default swaps," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 151(C).

    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:inm:ormnsc:v:68:y:2022:i:3:p:2069-2097. 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: Chris Asher (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/inforea.html .

    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.