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Public Firm Borrowers of the U.S. Paycheck Protection Program
[The risk of being a fallen angel and the corporate dash for cash in the midst of COVID]

Author

Listed:
  • Anna Cororaton
  • Samuel Rosen

Abstract

We document that nearly half of U.S. public firms were eligible for the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) in 2020, with 41.8% of those eligible choosing to borrow. Consistent with the program’s objectives, borrowers tended to be smaller with less cash, higher leverage, and fewer investment opportunities. In addition, firm values declined upon PPP loan announcement and borrowers grew slower in 2020 relative to nonborrowers. We document that 13.5% of PPP borrowers, in particular those facing more public scrutiny, returned their loans after public backlash. Overall, concerns of reputational harm appeared to dissuade eligible public firms from availing emergency government funding. (JEL E61, E65, G38, H81)

Suggested Citation

  • Anna Cororaton & Samuel Rosen, 2021. "Public Firm Borrowers of the U.S. Paycheck Protection Program [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. 10(4), pages 641-693.
    • Handle: RePEc:oup:rcorpf:v:10:y:2021:i:4:p:641-693.
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    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1093/rcfs/cfab019
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Erel, Isil & Liebersohn, Jack, 2022. "Can FinTech reduce disparities in access to finance? Evidence from the Paycheck Protection Program," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 146(1), pages 90-118.
    2. Marsh, W. Blake & Sharma, Padma, 2024. "Loan guarantees in a crisis: An antidote to a credit crunch?," Journal of Financial Stability, Elsevier, vol. 72(C).
    3. Bonfim, Diana & Custódio, Cláudia & Raposo, Clara, 2023. "Supporting small firms through recessions and recoveries," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 147(3), pages 658-688.
    4. Gustavo Joaquim & J. Christina Wang, 2022. "What Do 25 Million Records of Small Businesses Say about the Effects of the PPP?," Working Papers 22-23, Federal Reserve Bank of Boston.
    5. Beggs, William & Harvison, Thuong, 2023. "Fraud and abuse in the paycheck protection program? Evidence from investment advisory firms," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 147(C).
    6. Polo, Andrea & Altavilla, Carlo & Ellul, Andrew & Pagano, Marco & Vlassopoulos, Thomas, 2021. "Loan Guarantees, Bank Lending and Credit Risk Reallocation," CEPR Discussion Papers 16727, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    7. Barbakadze, I., 2023. "With a Little Help from My Friend: Political Connections and Allocation of COVID-19 Aid," Cambridge Working Papers in Economics 2355, Faculty of Economics, University of Cambridge.

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • E61 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Macroeconomic Policy, Macroeconomic Aspects of Public Finance, and General Outlook - - - Policy Objectives; Policy Designs and Consistency; Policy Coordination
    • E65 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Macroeconomic Policy, Macroeconomic Aspects of Public Finance, and General Outlook - - - Studies of Particular Policy Episodes
    • G38 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Government Policy and Regulation
    • H81 - Public Economics - - Miscellaneous Issues - - - Governmental Loans; Loan Guarantees; Credits; Grants; Bailouts

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