Corporate financing and anticipated credit rating changes

Hung, Chi-Hsiou D.; Banerjee, Anurag N.; Meng, Qingrui

Abstract

Firm circumstances change but rating agencies may not make timely revisions to their ratings, thereby increasing information asymmetry between firms and the market. We examine whether firms time the securities market before a credit rating agency publicly reveals its decision to change a firm’s credit rating. Using quarterly data, we show that firms adjust their financing structures before credit rating downgrades are publicly revealed. Specifically, firms on average increase their debt financing by 1.29 % before the disclosure of a rating downgrade, and this increase is due to the issuance of debt rather than the repurchase of equity. In contrast, firms do not take significant financing actions before credit rating upgrades.

Citation

Hung, C. D., Banerjee, A. N., & Meng, Q. (2017). Corporate financing and anticipated credit rating changes. Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, 48(4), 893-915. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11156-016-0571-3

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Mar 30, 2016
• Online Publication Date: Apr 15, 2016
• Publication Date: May 1, 2017
• Deposit Date: Apr 5, 2016
• Publicly Available Date: Apr 15, 2017
• Journal: Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting
• Print ISSN: 0924-865X
• Electronic ISSN: 1573-7179
• Publisher: Springer
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 48
• Issue: 4
• Pages: 893-915
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11156-016-0571-3
• Public URL: https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1415377