IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/nbr/nberwo/28104.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Sizing up Corporate Restructuring in the COVID Crisis

Author

Listed:
  • Robin Greenwood
  • Benjamin Iverson
  • David Thesmar

Abstract

In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, the financial and legal system will need to deal with a surge of financial distress in the business sector. Some firms will be able to survive, while others will face bankruptcy and thus need to be liquidated or reorganized. Many surviving firms will need to be downsized or acquired. In normal times, this triage is supported by the court system, banks, and financial markets. The goal of this paper is to size up the coming surge of financial distress, list the challenges it presents in the current environment, and analyze potential policy solutions. Overall, our analysis suggests that the two key issues will be court congestion and excess liquidation and failure of small firms.

Suggested Citation

  • Robin Greenwood & Benjamin Iverson & David Thesmar, 2020. "Sizing up Corporate Restructuring in the COVID Crisis," NBER Working Papers 28104, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    • Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:28104
    Note: CF
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.nber.org/papers/w28104.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Elena Carletti & Tommaso Oliviero & Marco Pagano & Loriana Pelizzon & Marti G Subrahmanyam, 2020. "The COVID-19 Shock and Equity Shortfall: Firm-Level Evidence from Italy," The Review of Corporate Finance Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 9(3), pages 534-568.
    2. Jose Maria Barrero & Nicholas Bloom & Steven J. Davis, 2020. "COVID-19 Is Also a Reallocation Shock," Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, Economic Studies Program, The Brookings Institution, vol. 51(2 (Summer), pages 329-383.
    3. Brian S. Chen & Samuel G. Hanson & Jeremy C. Stein, 2017. "The Decline of Big-Bank Lending to Small Business: Dynamic Impacts on Local Credit and Labor Markets," NBER Working Papers 23843, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    4. Paul T E Cusack, 2020. "On Pain," Biomedical Journal of Scientific & Technical Research, Biomedical Research Network+, LLC, vol. 31(3), pages 24253-24254, October.
    5. Elena Carletti & Tommaso Oliviero & Marco Pagano & Loriana Pelizzon & Marti G Subrahmanyam, 0. "The COVID-19 Shock and Equity Shortfall: Firm-Level Evidence from Italy," Review of Corporate Finance Studies, Oxford University Press, vol. 9(3), pages 534-568.
    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. Sabrina T. Howell & Theresa Kuchler & David Snitkof & Johannes Stroebel & Jun Wong, 2021. "Lender Automation and Racial Disparities in Credit Access," NBER Working Papers 29364, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    2. Gil Nogueira, 2022. "Corporate insolvency and restructuring during COVID-19," Economic Bulletin and Financial Stability Report Articles and Banco de Portugal Economic Studies, Banco de Portugal, Economics and Research Department.
    3. Crane, Leland D. & Decker, Ryan A. & Flaaen, Aaron & Hamins-Puertolas, Adrian & Kurz, Christopher, 2022. "Business exit during the COVID-19 pandemic: Non-traditional measures in historical context," Journal of Macroeconomics, Elsevier, vol. 72(C).
    4. Eleonora Cutrini & Federico Ninivaggi, 2024. "Pandemic crisis and firm survival: evidence from the Italian manufacturing industry," Economia e Politica Industriale: Journal of Industrial and Business Economics, Springer;Associazione Amici di Economia e Politica Industriale, vol. 51(2), pages 265-297, June.
    5. Rajan, Raghuram G., 2021. "Dealing with corporate distress, repair, and reallocation," Journal of Policy Modeling, Elsevier, vol. 43(4), pages 739-748.
    6. Werner Hölzl & Michael Böheim & Klaus Friesenbichler & Agnes Kügler & Thomas Leoni, 2021. "Staatliche Hilfsmaßnahmen für Unternehmen in der COVID-19-Krise. Eine begleitende Analyse operativer Aspekte und Unternehmenseinschätzungen," WIFO Studies, WIFO, number 66624, August.
    7. Surbhi Bhatia & Manish K. Singh, 2022. "Fifty years since Altman (1968): Performance of financial distress prediction models," Working Papers 12, xKDR.
    8. Sebnem Kalemli-Ozcan & Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas & Veronika Penciakova & Nick Sander, 2020. "COVID-19 and SME Failures," IMF Working Papers 2020/207, International Monetary Fund.
    9. Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas & Ṣebnem Kalemli-Özcan & Veronika Penciakova & Nick Sander, 2021. "Fiscal Policy in the Age of COVID: Does it ‘Get in all of the Cracks?’," NBER Working Papers 29293, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    10. Sabrina T. Howell & Theresa Kuchler & David Snitkof & Johannes Stroebel & Jun Wong, 2021. "Racial Disparities in Access to Small Business Credit: Evidence from the Paycheck Protection Program," CESifo Working Paper Series 9345, CESifo.
    11. Benoit Mojon & Daniel Rees & Christian Schmieder, 2021. "How much stress could Covid put on corporate credit? Evidence using sectoral data," BIS Quarterly Review, Bank for International Settlements, March.
    12. Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas & Ṣebnem Kalemli-Özcan & Veronika Penciakova & Nick Sander, 2020. "SME Failures Under Large Liquidity Shocks: An Application to the COVID-19 Crisis," NBER Working Papers 27877, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    13. Ke, Yun, 2022. "The impact of COVID-19 on firms’ cost of equity capital: Early evidence from U.S. public firms," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 46(PA).
    14. Zhang, Dengjun & Sogn-Grundvåg, Geir, 2022. "Credit constraints and the severity of COVID-19 impact: Empirical evidence from enterprise surveys," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 74(C), pages 337-349.
    15. Barbieri, Claudio & Couaillier, Cyril & Perales, Cristian & Rodriguez d’Acri, Costanza, 2022. "Informing macroprudential policy choices using credit supply and demand decompositions," Working Paper Series 2702, European Central Bank.
    16. Falk Bräuning & Victoria Ivashina & Ali Ozdagli, 2022. "High-Yield Debt Covenants and Their Real Effects," NBER Working Papers 29888, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    17. McCann, Fergal & McGeever, Niall, 2022. "Enterprise policy issues for distressed businesses following the unwinding of pandemic supports," Financial Stability Notes 9/FS/22, Central Bank of Ireland.
    18. Ángel de la Fuente & Benito Arruñada & Nuria Bermejo & Olga Cerqueira & Marta Cervera Martínez & José M. Fernández Seijo & Marta Flores Segura & Francisco Garcimartin & Stefan F. van Hemmen & Jordi Ma, 2021. "¿Cómo ayudar a las empresas en la crisis del Covid?," Policy Papers 2021-05, FEDEA.
    19. Khan, Safi Ullah, 2022. "Financing constraints and firm-level responses to the COVID-19 pandemic: International evidence," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 59(C).
    20. Florian Eckert & Heiner Mikosch, 2022. "Firm bankruptcies and start-up activity in Switzerland during the COVID-19 crisis," Swiss Journal of Economics and Statistics, Springer;Swiss Society of Economics and Statistics, vol. 158(1), pages 1-25, December.
    21. Lambert, Derek & McGeever, Niall & O'Brien, Eoghan, 2022. "Wage subsidy utilisation by Irish companies," Financial Stability Notes 8/FS/22, Central Bank of Ireland.
    22. Benito Arruñada & Ángel de la Fuente & Marta Cervera Martínez & Marta Flores Segura & Jordi Maristany Rivero, 2021. "Solvencia empresarial y derecho concursal: algunas reflexiones a la luz del Covid," Policy Papers 2021-04, FEDEA.

    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. Sebnem Kalemli-Ozcan & Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas & Veronika Penciakova & Nick Sander, 2020. "COVID-19 and SME Failures," IMF Working Papers 2020/207, International Monetary Fund.
    2. Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas & Ṣebnem Kalemli-Özcan & Veronika Penciakova & Nick Sander, 2021. "Fiscal Policy in the Age of COVID: Does it ‘Get in all of the Cracks?’," NBER Working Papers 29293, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    3. Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas & Ṣebnem Kalemli-Özcan & Veronika Penciakova & Nick Sander, 2020. "SME Failures Under Large Liquidity Shocks: An Application to the COVID-19 Crisis," NBER Working Papers 27877, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    4. Magdalena Olczyk & Marta Ewa Kuc-Czarnecka, 2021. "Determinants of COVID-19 Impact on the Private Sector: A Multi-Country Analysis Based on Survey Data," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(14), pages 1-17, July.
    5. Ducret, Romain, 2021. "Investors' perception of business group membership during an economic crisis : Evidence from the COVID-19 pandemic," FSES Working Papers 524, Faculty of Economics and Social Sciences, University of Freiburg/Fribourg Switzerland.
    6. Péter Harasztosi & Laurent Maurin & Rozália Pál & Debora Revoltella & Wouter van der Wielen, 2022. "Firm-level policy support during the crisis: So far, so good?," International Economics, CEPII research center, issue 171, pages 30-48.
    7. Thomas Philippon, 2020. "Efficient Programs to Support Businesses During and After Lockdowns," NBER Working Papers 28211, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    8. Sha, Yezhou & Zhang, Yong & Lu, Xiaomeng, 2022. "Household investment diversification amid Covid-19 pandemic: Evidence from Chinese investors," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 47(PA).
    9. Viral V Acharya & Sascha Steffen, 2020. "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. 9(3), pages 430-471.
    10. Carlo Altavilla & Andrew Ellul & Marco Pagano & Andrea Polo & Thomas Vlassopoulos, 2021. "Loan Guarantees, Bank Lending and Credit Risk Reallocation," CSEF Working Papers 629, Centre for Studies in Economics and Finance (CSEF), University of Naples, Italy, revised 30 Jul 2022.
    11. Jana Majerova & Lubica Gajanova & Margareta Nadanyiova & Anita Kolnhofer Derecskei, 2021. "Intrinsic Motivation Sources as Pillars of Sustainable Internal Marketing Communication in Turbulent Post-Pandemic Times," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(16), pages 1-17, August.
    12. Kren, Janez & Lawless, Martina & McGuinness, Gerard & O'Toole, Conor, 2022. "SME Financial Distress and the Macroeconomic Recovery: A Microsimulation Approach," Papers WP718, Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI).
    13. Huneeus,Federico & Kaboski,Joseph P. & Larrain,Mauricio & Schmukler,Sergio L. & Vera,Mario, 2022. "The Distribution of Crisis Credit : Effects on Firm Indebtedness and Aggregate Risk," Policy Research Working Paper Series 9937, The World Bank.
    14. Borri, Nicola & Giorgio, Giorgio di, 2022. "Systemic risk and the COVID challenge in the european banking sector," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 140(C).
    15. Giovanni Ferri & Raffaele Lagravinese & Giuliano Resce, 2021. "Did the COVID-19 Shock Impair the Stock Performance of Companies with Older CEOs?," SERIES 02-2021, Dipartimento di Economia e Finanza - Università degli Studi di Bari "Aldo Moro", revised Jun 2021.
    16. Monika Wieczorek-Kosmala & Joanna Błach & Anna Doś, 2021. "COVID-19 Interruptions and SMEs Heterogeneity: Evidence from Poland," Risks, MDPI, vol. 9(9), pages 1-21, September.
    17. Rebucci, Alessandro & Bai, Ge & Jiménez, Daniel & Phan, Phillip & , & Sun, Xian, 2021. "The Financial Fragility of For-profit Hospitals: Evidence from the COVID-19 Pandemic," CEPR Discussion Papers 16650, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    18. Hurley, James & Karmakar, Sudipto & Markoska, Elena & Walczak, Eryk & Walker, Danny, 2021. "Impacts of the Covid-19 crisis: evidence from 2 million UK SMEs," Bank of England working papers 924, Bank of England.
    19. Amore, Mario Daniele & Pelucco, Valerio & Quarato, Fabio, 2022. "Family ownership during the Covid-19 pandemic," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 135(C).
    20. Ali Gungoraydinoglu & Ilke Öztekin & Özde Öztekin, 2021. "The Impact of COVID-19 and Its Policy Responses on Local Economy and Health Conditions," JRFM, MDPI, vol. 14(6), pages 1-27, May.

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • D22 - Microeconomics - - Production and Organizations - - - Firm Behavior: Empirical Analysis
    • G33 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Bankruptcy; Liquidation
    • G38 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Government Policy and Regulation

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    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:nbr:nberwo:28104. 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: the person in charge (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/nberrus.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.