The financial structure of firms is diverse. Firms issue many different types of financial claims. This article focuses on the seniority structure of debt contracts. It is outlined under what conditions firms can improve the outcome of their financial decisions by choosing seniority structure. The main reason for issuing debt contracts with different priority is that in case of financial distress firms only have to renegotiate with a smaller number of creditors. This outcome makes observation of the firm`s condition by creditors more likely. If observation occurs seniority decreases observation costs. But observation can also harm the owner so that seniority could be inferior to a debt structure which treats all creditors identically. Later on we introduce a financial intermediary into the model. It is outlined how a financial intermediary can be welfare improving on the junior level.
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Paper provided by University of Bonn, Germany in its series Discussion Paper Serie A with number
583.
Length: pages Date of creation: Oct 1998 Date of revision: Handle: RePEc:bon:bonsfa:583
Contact details of provider: Postal: Bonn Graduate School of Economics, University of Bonn, Adenauerallee 24 - 26, 53113 Bonn, Germany Fax: +49 228 73 9221 Web page: http://www.bgse.uni-bonn.de/index.php?id=517
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Boot, Arnoud W A & Thakor, Anjan V, 1993.
" Security Design,"
Journal of Finance,
American Finance Association, vol. 48(4), pages 1349-78, September.
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Arnoud W A Boot & Anjan V Thakor, 1992.
"Security Design,"
CEPR Financial Markets Paper
0020, European Science Foundation Network in Financial Markets, c/o C.E.P.R, 53--56 Great Sutton Street, London EC1V 0DG.
Franklin Allen, Douglas Gale, 1988.
"Optimal Security Design,"
Review of Financial Studies,
Oxford University Press for Society for Financial Studies, vol. 1(3), pages 229-263.
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