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The impact of credit ratings on corporate behavior: Evidence from Moody's adjustments

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  • Kisgen, Darren J.

Abstract

Moody's adjusts a firm's reported leverage across several dimensions to determine credit ratings. I find that changes to this adjustment methodology affect firm capital structure and investment decisions. In particular, in 2006, Moody's made several changes to its adjustment methodologies, which are arguably exogenous to changes in firm fundamentals. I show these changes significantly affect adjustments for firms in this year. I then show that these changes to adjustments in 2006 affect capital structure and investment decisions in 2007, especially for those firms with greatest exposure to the methodology changes. These results show that rating agencies have the power to affect corporate decisions.

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  • Kisgen, Darren J., 2019. "The impact of credit ratings on corporate behavior: Evidence from Moody's adjustments," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 58(C), pages 567-582.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:corfin:v:58:y:2019:i:c:p:567-582
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jcorpfin.2019.07.002
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Credit ratings; Capital structure; Leverage; Debt;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • G21 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - Banks; Other Depository Institutions; Micro Finance Institutions; Mortgages
    • G28 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - Government Policy and Regulation
    • G31 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Capital Budgeting; Fixed Investment and Inventory Studies
    • G32 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Financing Policy; Financial Risk and Risk Management; Capital and Ownership Structure; Value of Firms; Goodwill
    • G33 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Bankruptcy; Liquidation
    • G38 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Government Policy and Regulation

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