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The Costs of Corporate Debt Overhang Following the COVID-19 Outbreak

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Abstract

Leading up to the COVID-19 outbreak, there were growing concerns about corporate sector indebtedness. High levels of borrowing may give rise to a “debt overhang” problem, particularly during downturns, whereby firms forego good investment opportunities because of an inability to raise additional funding. In this post, we show that firms with high levels of borrowing at the onset of the Great Recession underperformed in the following years, compared to similar—but less indebted—firms. These findings, together with early data on the revenue contractions following the COVID-19 outbreak, suggest that debt overhang during the COVID-recession could lead to an up to 10 percent decrease in growth for firms in industries most affected by the economic repercussions of the battle against the outbreak.

Suggested Citation

  • Kristian S. Blickle & João A. C. Santos, 2020. "The Costs of Corporate Debt Overhang Following the COVID-19 Outbreak," Liberty Street Economics 20201201, Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
    • Handle: RePEc:fip:fednls:89100
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    Cited by:

    1. Isabel Argimón & Irene Roibás, 2023. "Debt overhang, credit demand and financial conditions," Working Papers 2308, Banco de España.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    debt overhang; COVID-19;

    JEL classification:

    • G3 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance

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