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Securities Laws, Bank Monitoring, and the Choice Between Cov-lite Loans and Bonds for Highly Levered

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  • Robert Prilmeier
  • René M. Stulz

Abstract

In contrast to bonds, cov-lite loans do not require SEC registration and are not subject to securities laws. We show that this distinction plays an important role in firms’ choice between funding through cov-lite loans and bonds and helps understand why the market share of cov-lite loans has been so high in recent normal times. Compared to cov-heavy loans, cov-lite loans are closer substitutes for bonds in that they have similar covenants, have tighter bid-ask spreads, have more trading, and are more likely to be used to refinance bonds than cov-heavy loans.

Suggested Citation

  • Robert Prilmeier & René M. Stulz, 2019. "Securities Laws, Bank Monitoring, and the Choice Between Cov-lite Loans and Bonds for Highly Levered," NBER Working Papers 25467, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    • Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:25467
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    Cited by:

    1. Michael R. Roberts & Michael Schwert, 2020. "Interest Rates and the Design of Financial Contracts," NBER Working Papers 27195, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • D82 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty - - - Asymmetric and Private Information; Mechanism Design
    • G18 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - Government Policy and Regulation
    • G23 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - Non-bank Financial Institutions; Financial Instruments; Institutional Investors
    • G32 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Financing Policy; Financial Risk and Risk Management; Capital and Ownership Structure; Value of Firms; Goodwill

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