Do Bankruptcy Codes Matter? A Study of Defaults in France, Germany, and the U.K
Abstract
Using a sample of small firms that defaulted on their bank debt in France, Germany, and the United Kingdom, we find that large differences in creditors' rights across countries lead banks to adjust their lending and reorganization practices to mitigate costly aspects of bankruptcy law. In particular, French banks respond to a creditor-unfriendly code by requiring more collateral than lenders elsewhere, and by relying on collateral forms that minimize the statutory dilution of their claims in bankruptcy. Despite such adjustments, bank recovery rates in default remain sharply different across the three countries, reflecting very different levels of creditor protection. Copyright 2008 by The American Finance Association.Download Info
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Bibliographic Info
Article provided by American Finance Association in its journal The Journal of Finance.
Volume (Year): 63 (2008)
Issue (Month): 2 (04)
Pages: 565-608
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Citations
Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.Cited by:
- Berger, Allen N. & Cerqueiro, Geraldo & Penas, María F., 2011. "Does debtor protection really protect debtors? Evidence from the small business credit market," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 35(7), pages 1843-1857, July.
- Bhatia, Jai, 2009. "The impact of insolvency laws on venture capital," MPRA Paper 21346, University Library of Munich, Germany.
- Nicolae STEF, 2013. "Severity of the Voting Rules in Bankruptcy," Working Papers of LaRGE Research Center 2013-07, Laboratoire de Recherche en Gestion et Economie (LaRGE), Université de Strasbourg (France).
- Acharya, Viral V & John, Kose & Sundaram, Rangarajan K, 2005.
"Cross-Country Variations in Capital Structures: The Role of Bankruptcy Codes,"
CEPR Discussion Papers
4916, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
- Acharya, Viral V. & Sundaram, Rangarajan K. & John, Kose, 2011. "Cross-country variations in capital structures: The role of bankruptcy codes," Journal of Financial Intermediation, Elsevier, vol. 20(1), pages 25-54, January.
- Giacinto Micucci & Paola Rossi, 2010. "Debt restructuring and the role of lending technologies," Temi di discussione (Economic working papers) 763, Bank of Italy, Economic Research and International Relations Area.
- Cerqueiro, G.M. & Penas, M.F., 2011.
"How Does Personal Bankruptcy Law Affect Start-ups?,"
Discussion Paper
2011-043, Tilburg University, Tilburg Law and Economic Center.
- Cerqueiro, G.M. & Penas, M.F., 2011. "How Does Personal Bankruptcy Law Affect Start-ups?," Discussion Paper 2011-106, Tilburg University, Center for Economic Research.
- Blazy, Régis & Chopard, Bertrand & Fimayer, Agnès & Guigou, Jean-Daniel, 2011. "Employment preservation vs. creditors' repayment under bankruptcy law: The French dilemma?," International Review of Law and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 31(2), pages 126-141, June.
- Pawlina, Grzegorz, 2010. "Underinvestment, capital structure and strategic debt restructuring," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 16(5), pages 679-702, December.
- Tucker, Jon & Stoja, Evarist, 2011. "Industry membership and capital structure dynamics in the UK," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 20(4), pages 207-214, August.
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