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Does Board Independence Reduce the Cost of Debt?

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  • Michael Bradley
  • Dong Chen

Abstract

type="main"> Using the passage of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and the associated changes in listing standards as a natural experiment, we find that while board independence decreases the cost of debt when credit conditions are strong or leverage is low, it increases the cost of debt when credit conditions are poor or leverage is high. We also document that independent directors set corporate policies that increase firm risk. These results suggest that independent directors act in the interests of shareholders and are increasingly costly to bondholders with the intensification of the agency conflict between these two stakeholder groups.

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  • Michael Bradley & Dong Chen, 2015. "Does Board Independence Reduce the Cost of Debt?," Financial Management, Financial Management Association International, vol. 44(1), pages 15-47, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:finmgt:v:44:y:2015:i:1:p:15-47
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    Cited by:

    1. ManYing Kang & Marcel Ausloos, 2017. "An Inverse Problem Study: Credit Risk Ratings as a Determinant of Corporate Governance and Capital Structure in Emerging Markets: Evidence from Chinese Listed Companies," Economies, MDPI, vol. 5(4), pages 1-23, November.
    2. Servaes, Henri & Amiraslani, Hami & Lins, Karl & Tamayo, Ane, 2017. "A Matter of Trust? The Bond Market Benefits of Corporate Social Capital during the Financial Crisis," CEPR Discussion Papers 12321, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    3. Umberto Filotto & Caterina Lucarelli & Nicoletta Marinelli, 2018. "Nudge of shared information responsibilities: a meso-economic perspective of the Italian consumer credit reform," Mind & Society: Cognitive Studies in Economics and Social Sciences, Springer;Fondazione Rosselli, vol. 17(1), pages 1-14, November.
    4. Benjamin S. Kay & Cindy M. Vojtech, 2015. "Corporate Governance Responses to Director Rule Changes," Staff Discussion Papers 15-02, Office of Financial Research, US Department of the Treasury.
    5. Li, Changhong & Xu, Yuan & Gill, Amarjit & Haider, Zulfiquer Ali & Wang, Yuan, 2019. "Religious beliefs, socially responsible investment, and cost of debt: Evidence from entrepreneurial firms in India," Emerging Markets Review, Elsevier, vol. 38(C), pages 102-114.
    6. Hui Liang James & Hongxia Wang, 2021. "Independent director tenure and dividends," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 48(5-6), pages 1057-1091, May.
    7. Kopyrina, Olga & Stepanova, Anastasia, 2023. "The influence of ownership structure and board independence on the cost of debt in BRIC countries," Economic Systems, Elsevier, vol. 47(2).
    8. Othar Kordsachia, 2021. "A risk management perspective on CSR and the marginal cost of debt: empirical evidence from Europe," Review of Managerial Science, Springer, vol. 15(6), pages 1611-1643, August.
    9. Jara, Mauricio & López-Iturriaga, Félix & San Martín, Pablo & Saona, Paolo & Tenderini, Giannina, 2019. "Chilean pension fund managers and corporate governance: The impact on corporate debt," The North American Journal of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 48(C), pages 321-337.
    10. Meder, Anthony A. & Schwartz, Steven T. & Young, Richard, 2019. "Cross-acceleration and the relationship between board independence and bond yield spreads," Advances in accounting, Elsevier, vol. 44(C), pages 58-67.
    11. Sandvik, Jason, 2020. "Board monitoring, director connections, and credit quality☆," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 65(C).
    12. Hami Amiraslani & Karl V. Lins & Henri Servaes & Ane Tamayo, 2023. "Trust, social capital, and the bond market benefits of ESG performance," Review of Accounting Studies, Springer, vol. 28(2), pages 421-462, June.
    13. Gilani, Usman & Keasey, Kevin & Vallascas, Francesco, 2021. "Board financial expertise and the capital decisions of US banks," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 71(C).
    14. Shashank Bansal & M. Thenmozhi, 2019. "Does Board Composition Matter to Institutional Investors?," Journal of Emerging Market Finance, Institute for Financial Management and Research, vol. 18(2_suppl), pages 238-266, August.
    15. Ozbek, O. Volkan, 2021. "Market Performance of Spun-Off Subsidiaries: Effects of Board Independence and Directors’ Industry Experience," American Business Review, Pompea College of Business, University of New Haven, vol. 24(1), pages 249-267, May.
    16. James, Hui Liang & Ngo, Thanh & Wang, Hongxia, 2021. "Independent director tenure and corporate transparency," The North American Journal of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 57(C).
    17. Ashraf, Dawood & Rizwan, Muhammad Suhail & Azmat, Saad, 2021. "Not one but three decisions in sukuk issuance: Understanding the role of ownership and governance," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 69(C).
    18. Anastasia N. Stepanova & Olga O. Kopyrina, 2019. "The Influence Of Ownership Structure And Board Independence On The Cost Of Debt In Bric Countries," HSE Working papers WP BRP 74/FE/2019, National Research University Higher School of Economics.
    19. Andrews Owusu & Frank Kwabi & Ernest Ezeani & Ruth Owusu-Mensah, 2022. "CEO tenure and cost of debt," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 59(2), pages 507-544, August.
    20. Vladimir Atanasov & Bernard Black, 2021. "The Trouble with Instruments: The Need for Pretreatment Balance in Shock-Based Instrumental Variable Designs," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 67(2), pages 1270-1302, February.
    21. ManYing Kang & Marcel Ausloos, 2017. "An Inverse Problem Study: Credit Risk Ratings as a Determinant of Corporate Governance and Capital Structure in Emerging Markets: Evidence from Chinese Listed Companies," Papers 1712.00602, arXiv.org.
    22. Vidia Gati & Iman Harymawan & Mohammad Nasih, 2022. "Do Firms in the Islamic Index Differ from Others? Evidence of Cost of Debt in Sharia Firms in Indonesia," Economies, MDPI, vol. 10(5), pages 1-14, May.
    23. Trinks, Arjan & Ibikunle, Gbenga & Mulder, Machiel & Scholtens, Bert, 2017. "Greenhouse Gas Emissions Intensity and the Cost of Capital," Research Report 17017-EEF, University of Groningen, Research Institute SOM (Systems, Organisations and Management).
    24. Khawaja, Mohsin & Bhatti, M. Ishaq & Ashraf, Dawood, 2019. "Ownership and control in a double decision framework for raising capital," Emerging Markets Review, Elsevier, vol. 41(C).
    25. Hamdi Driss & Sadok El Ghoul & Omrane Guedhami & John K. Wald, 2023. "Governance and leverage: International evidence," The Financial Review, Eastern Finance Association, vol. 58(2), pages 261-285, May.

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