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How Did COVID-19 Affect Firms’ Access to Public Capital Markets?

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  • Michael Halling
  • Jin Yu
  • Josef Zechner

Abstract

We find that bond issues have substantially increased since the onset of the COVID-19 crisis in calendar week 12 (March 16–20) for bonds rated A or higher, but surprisingly also for bonds rated BBB or lower. In contrast to existing evidence on bond maturities in economic downturns, we document that maturities exceed those of bonds issued before by the same firms as well as the average maturities during normal times. Determinants of corporate bond spreads substantially differ between COVID-19 and normal times. Most prominently, asset tangibility has a highly significant negative effect on spreads during normal times. During COVID-19, this is reversed, especially in industries heavily affected by lockdown measures, reflecting the inflexibility associated with fixed assets. A different picture emerges for equity issues, which slowed considerably during the first 4 weeks of the pandemic, before accelerating again. Capital raised during COVID-19 via equity issues is approximately 5% of capital raised via bond issues. (JEL G01, G32)Received: May 21, 2020; editorial decision June 17, 2020 by Editor Andrew Ellul.

Suggested Citation

  • Michael Halling & Jin Yu & Josef Zechner, 2020. "How Did COVID-19 Affect Firms’ Access to Public Capital Markets?," The Review of Corporate Finance Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 9(3), pages 501-533.
    • Handle: RePEc:oup:rcorpf:v:9:y:2020:i:3:p:501-533.
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    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1093/rcfs/cfaa008
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    Cited by:

    1. Ferriani, Fabrizio, 2023. "Issuing bonds during the Covid-19 pandemic: Was there an ESG premium?," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 88(C).
    2. Erel, Isil & Liebersohn, Jack, 2022. "Can FinTech reduce disparities in access to finance? Evidence from the Paycheck Protection Program," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 146(1), pages 90-118.
    3. Silva, Thiago Christiano & Wilhelm, Paulo Victor Berri & Tabak, Benjamin Miranda, 2022. "The role of non-critical business and telework propensity in international stock markets during the COVID-19 pandemic," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 79(C).
    4. Abdelhafid Benamraoui, 2021. "The World Economy and Islamic Economics in the Time of COVID-19 الاقتصاد العالمي والاقتصاد الإسلامي في زمن كوفيد-19," Journal of King Abdulaziz University: Islamic Economics, King Abdulaziz University, Islamic Economics Institute., vol. 34(1), pages 67-78, January.
    5. Bo Becker & Efraim Benmelech, 2021. "The Resilience of the U.S. Corporate Bond Market During Financial Crises," NBER Working Papers 28868, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    6. Gopalakrishnan, Balagopal & Jacob, Joshy & Mohapatra, Sanket, 2021. "Government responses, business continuity, and management sentiment: Impact on debt financing during COVID-19," IIMA Working Papers WP 2021-04-03, Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad, Research and Publication Department.
    7. Omrane Guedhami & April Knill & William L. Megginson & Lemma W. Senbet, 2022. "The dark side of globalization: Evidence from the impact of COVID-19 on multinational companies," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 53(8), pages 1603-1640, October.
    8. Isil Erel & Jack Liebersohn, 2020. "Does FinTech Substitute for Banks? Evidence from the Paycheck Protection Program," NBER Working Papers 27659, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    9. Athira, A. & Ramesh, Vishnu K., 2023. "COVID-19 and corporate tax avoidance: International evidence," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 32(4).
    10. Ducret, Romain, 2021. "Investors' perception of business group membership during an economic crisis : Evidence from the COVID-19 pandemic," FSES Working Papers 524, Faculty of Economics and Social Sciences, University of Freiburg/Fribourg Switzerland.
    11. Wilson, Christian & Caldecott, Ben, 2023. "Investigating the role of passive funds in carbon-intensive capital markets: Evidence from U.S. bonds," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 209(C).
    12. Matthew Spiegel & Heather Tookes, 2021. "Business Restrictions and COVID-19 Fatalities [The immediate effect of COVID-19 policies on social distancing behavior in the United States]," Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 34(11), pages 5266-5308.
    13. Rekha Pillai & Husam-Aldin N. Al-Malkawi & M. Ishaq Bhatti, 2021. "Assessing Institutional Dynamics of Governance Compliance in Emerging Markets: The GCC Real Estate Sector," JRFM, MDPI, vol. 14(10), pages 1-18, October.
    14. Zhang, Cheng & Lee, Yun-Chi & Ho, Kung-Cheng & Shen, Xixi, 2023. "Influence of institutional differences on trade credit use during pandemics," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 77(C).
    15. Yousaf, Imran, 2021. "Risk transmission from the COVID-19 to metals and energy markets," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 73(C).
    16. Kemal Tosun, Onur & Eshraghi, Arman & Muradoglu, Gulnur, 2023. "Learning financial survival from disasters," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 85(C).
    17. Borgioli, Stefano & Kochanska, Urszula & Mongelli, Francesco Paolo & Zito, Alessandro, 2023. "A novel high‐frequency indicator of financial integration for monitoring the impact of COVID-19," Statistics Paper Series 43, European Central Bank.
    18. Umar, Zaghum & Manel, Youssef & Riaz, Yasir & Gubareva, Mariya, 2021. "Return and volatility transmission between emerging markets and US debt throughout the pandemic crisis," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 67(C).
    19. Rahman, Md Lutfur & Al Mamun, Mohammed Abdullah, 2021. "How resilient are the Asia Pacific financial markets against a global pandemic?," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 69(C).
    20. Pettenuzzo, Davide & Sabbatucci, Riccardo & Timmermann, Allan, 2023. "Payout suspensions during the Covid-19 pandemic," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 224(C).
    21. Ali Gungoraydinoglu & Ilke Öztekin & Özde Öztekin, 2021. "The Impact of COVID-19 and Its Policy Responses on Local Economy and Health Conditions," JRFM, MDPI, vol. 14(6), pages 1-27, May.
    22. Kyungkook Kim & Keun Tae Cho, 2021. "A Review of Global Collaboration on COVID-19 Research during the Pandemic in 2020," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(14), pages 1-23, July.
    23. Gopalakrishnan, Balagopal & Jacob, Joshy & Mohapatra, Sanket, 2022. "COVID-19 pandemic and debt financing by firms: Unravelling the channels," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 114(C).

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • G01 - Financial Economics - - General - - - Financial Crises
    • G32 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Financing Policy; Financial Risk and Risk Management; Capital and Ownership Structure; Value of Firms; Goodwill

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