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Financial Distress and Bank Restructuring of Small to Medium Size UK Companies

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  • Franks, Julian
  • Sussman, Oren

Abstract

We use a unique data set to analyse how UK banks deal with small to medium size distressed firms both inside and outside bankruptcy. The approach to bankruptcy is contract-based, with lenders and borrowers relying on procedures written into the debt contract, and where the courts are largely uninvolved. We find that firms in our sample have highly concentrated debt structures and liquidation rights. As a result, the rescue process is largely free of coordination failures and creditors? runs. We find that the principal lender, ?the bank?, makes few concessions to the borrower and that there is a virtual absence of debt forgiveness. Finally, the bank relies heavily on the highly collateralized value of its loan in making the decision to place the distressed firm in bankruptcy.

Suggested Citation

  • Franks, Julian & Sussman, Oren, 2003. "Financial Distress and Bank Restructuring of Small to Medium Size UK Companies," CEPR Discussion Papers 3915, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
  • Handle: RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:3915
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Schmieder, Christian & Schmieder, Philipp & Kraemer-Eis, Helmut, 2010. "Impact of Legislation on Credit Risk. How different are the UK and Germany?," EIF Working Paper Series 2010/08, European Investment Fund (EIF).
    2. de Jong, A., 2004. "It Takes Two To Tango: an empirical tale of distressed firms and assisting banks," ERIM Report Series Research in Management ERS-2004-049-F&A, Erasmus Research Institute of Management (ERIM), ERIM is the joint research institute of the Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University and the Erasmus School of Economics (ESE) at Erasmus University Rotterdam.
    3. Gary Cook & Keith Pond, 2006. "Explaining the choice between alternative insolvency regimes for troubled companies in the UK and Sweden," European Journal of Law and Economics, Springer, vol. 22(1), pages 21-47, July.
    4. Ursel Baumann & Glenn Hoggarth & Darren Pain, 2005. "The substitution of bank for non-bank corporate finance: evidence for the United Kingdom," Bank of England working papers 274, Bank of England.
    5. Charlie Weir & Mike Wright & Louise Scholes, 2008. "Public-to-private buy-outs, distress costs and private equity," Applied Financial Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 18(10), pages 801-819.
    6. Bukovšek Marjeta Zorin & Bratina Borut & Tominc Polona, 2017. "Factors of a Successfully Implemented Compulsory Settlement," Naše gospodarstvo/Our economy, Sciendo, vol. 63(1), pages 14-26, March.
    7. Franks, Julian & Sussman, Oren, 2005. "Financial innovations and corporate bankruptcy," Journal of Financial Intermediation, Elsevier, vol. 14(3), pages 283-317, July.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Bankruptcy; Bank lending; Collateral; Liquidation rights;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • G10 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - General (includes Measurement and Data)
    • G20 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - General

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