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The secured credit premium and the issuance of secured debt

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  • Benmelech, Efraim
  • Kumar, Nitish
  • Rajan, Raghuram

Abstract

Credit spreads for secured debt are lower than for unsecured debt, especially when a firm's credit quality deteriorates, the economy slows, or average credit spreads widen. Yet investment-grade firms tend to be reluctant to issue secured debt at all times. In contrast, we find that for firms that are rated below investment grade, the likelihood of secured debt issuance increases as firm credit quality deteriorates, the economy slows, or average credit spreads widen. This differential pattern of issue behavior is consistent with highly rated firms seeing unencumbered collateral as a form of insurance, to be used only in extremis.

Suggested Citation

  • Benmelech, Efraim & Kumar, Nitish & Rajan, Raghuram, 2022. "The secured credit premium and the issuance of secured debt," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 146(1), pages 143-171.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jfinec:v:146:y:2022:i:1:p:143-171
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jfineco.2022.06.005
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    Cited by:

    1. Biguri, Kizkitza, 2023. "How Does Access to the Unsecured Debt Market Affect Investment?," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 152(C).
    2. Efraim Benmelech & Nitish Kumar & Raghuram Rajan, 2020. "The Decline of Secured Debt," NBER Working Papers 26637, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    3. Gianmarco Bet & Francesco Dainelli & Eugenio Fabrizi, 2023. "The financial health of a company and the risk of its default: Back to the future," Papers 2302.10140, arXiv.org.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Business cycles; Collateral; Credit spreads; Secured debt;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • E32 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Prices, Business Fluctuations, and Cycles - - - Business Fluctuations; Cycles
    • G12 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - Asset Pricing; Trading Volume; Bond Interest Rates
    • G33 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Bankruptcy; Liquidation

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