IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/corfin/v94y2025ics0929119925001130.html

Cash holdings and relationship lending

Author

Listed:
  • Dahiya, Sandeep
  • Hallak, Issam
  • Matthys, Thomas

Abstract

We examine the effect of relationship lending on a firm’s cash-holding levels. Relationship lending allows lenders to generate private information about borrowers, which mitigates their financial constraints. Using exogenous shocks to identify stress to lending relationships, we show that strong lending relationships translate into lower cash holding for borrowers. We also show that the impact of lending relationships on cash holdings is greatest for firms faced with high information asymmetry. Thus, opaque firms are more likely to use their borrowing relationship as a substitute for cash holdings. We find that relationships have a negative impact on the market value through a firms’ level of cash holding. This impact is significantly greater when firms experience a large change in their cash holdings.

Suggested Citation

  • Dahiya, Sandeep & Hallak, Issam & Matthys, Thomas, 2025. "Cash holdings and relationship lending," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 94(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:corfin:v:94:y:2025:i:c:s0929119925001130
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jcorpfin.2025.102845
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0929119925001130
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.jcorpfin.2025.102845?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to

    for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Viral V. Acharya & Heitor Almeida & Murillo Campello, 2013. "Aggregate Risk and the Choice between Cash and Lines of Credit," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 68(5), pages 2059-2116, October.
    2. Gregory J. Cohen & Jacob Dice & Melanie Friedrichs & Kamran Gupta & William Hayes & Isabel Kitschelt & Seung Jung Lee & W. Blake Marsh & Nathan Mislang & Maya Shaton & Martin Sicilian & Chris Webster, 2021. "The U.S. syndicated loan market: Matching data," Journal of Financial Research, Southern Finance Association;Southwestern Finance Association, vol. 44(4), pages 695-723, December.
    3. Murillo Campello & Erasmo Giambona & John R. Graham & Campbell R. Harvey, 2011. "Liquidity Management and Corporate Investment During a Financial Crisis," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 24(6), pages 1944-1979.
    4. Sharpe, Steven A, 1990. "Asymmetric Information, Bank Lending, and Implicit Contracts: A Stylized Model of Customer Relationships," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 45(4), pages 1069-1087, September.
    5. Smith, Clifford Jr. & Watts, Ross L., 1992. "The investment opportunity set and corporate financing, dividend, and compensation policies," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 32(3), pages 263-292, December.
    6. Lee Pinkowitz & René Stulz & Rohan Williamson, 2006. "Does the Contribution of Corporate Cash Holdings and Dividends to Firm Value Depend on Governance? A Cross‐country Analysis," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 61(6), pages 2725-2751, December.
    7. Lyandres, Evgeny & Palazzo, Berardino, 2016. "Cash Holdings, Competition, and Innovation," Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 51(6), pages 1823-1861, December.
    8. Dittmar, Amy & Mahrt-Smith, Jan & Servaes, Henri, 2003. "International Corporate Governance and Corporate Cash Holdings," Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 38(1), pages 111-133, March.
    9. Jason Allen & H. Evren Damar & David Martinez-Miera, 2016. "Consumer Bankruptcy, Bank Mergers, and Information," Review of Finance, European Finance Association, vol. 20(4), pages 1289-1320.
    10. Prilmeier, Robert, 2017. "Why do loans contain covenants? Evidence from lending relationships," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 123(3), pages 558-579.
    11. Peek, Joe & Rosengren, Eric S., 1998. "Bank consolidation and small business lending: It's not just bank size that matters," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 22(6-8), pages 799-819, August.
    12. A. Colin Cameron & Jonah B. Gelbach & Douglas L. Miller, 2011. "Robust Inference With Multiway Clustering," Journal of Business & Economic Statistics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 29(2), pages 238-249, April.
    13. Thomas W. Bates & Kathleen M. Kahle & René M. Stulz, 2009. "Why Do U.S. Firms Hold So Much More Cash than They Used To?," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 64(5), pages 1985-2021, October.
    14. Michael Faulkender & Rong Wang, 2006. "Corporate Financial Policy and the Value of Cash," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 61(4), pages 1957-1990, August.
    15. Jung, Kooyul & Yong-Cheol, Kim & Stulz, Rene M., 1996. "Timing, investment opportunities, managerial discretion, and the security issue decision," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 42(2), pages 159-185, October.
    16. Ozkan, Aydin & Ozkan, Neslihan, 2004. "Corporate cash holdings: An empirical investigation of UK companies," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 28(9), pages 2103-2134, September.
    17. Berlin, Mitchell & Nini, Greg & Yu, Edison G., 2020. "Concentration of control rights in leveraged loan syndicates," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 137(1), pages 249-271.
    18. Hadlock, Charles & Houston, Joel & Ryngaert, Michael, 1999. "The role of managerial incentives in bank acquisitions," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 23(2-4), pages 221-249, February.
    19. Lei, Jin & Qiu, Jiaping & Wan, Chi, 2018. "Asset tangibility, cash holdings, and financial development," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 50(C), pages 223-242.
    20. Im, Hyun Joong & Kim, Jiyeon & Ryu, Dean, 2023. "Unified government and the value of cash holdings," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 58(PC).
    21. Opler, Tim & Pinkowitz, Lee & Stulz, Rene & Williamson, Rohan, 1999. "The determinants and implications of corporate cash holdings," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 52(1), pages 3-46, April.
    22. John R. Graham & Mark T. Leary, 2018. "The Evolution of Corporate Cash," Journal of Applied Corporate Finance, Morgan Stanley, vol. 30(4), pages 36-60, December.
    23. Carola Schenone, 2010. "Lending Relationships and Information Rents: Do Banks Exploit Their Information Advantages?," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 23(3), pages 1149-1199, March.
    24. Amir Sufi, 2007. "Information Asymmetry and Financing Arrangements: Evidence from Syndicated Loans," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 62(2), pages 629-668, April.
    25. Bates, Thomas W. & Chang, Ching-Hung & Chi, Jianxin Daniel, 2018. "Why Has the Value of Cash Increased Over Time?," Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 53(2), pages 749-787, April.
    26. Ivashina, Victoria & Scharfstein, David, 2010. "Bank lending during the financial crisis of 2008," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 97(3), pages 319-338, September.
    27. Michael W Faulkender & Kristine W Hankins & Mitchell A Petersen, 2019. "Understanding the Rise in Corporate Cash: Precautionary Savings or Foreign Taxes," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 32(9), pages 3299-3334.
    28. Amir Sufi, 2009. "Bank Lines of Credit in Corporate Finance: An Empirical Analysis," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 22(3), pages 1057-1088, March.
    29. Fritz Foley, C. & Hartzell, Jay C. & Titman, Sheridan & Twite, Garry, 2007. "Why do firms hold so much cash? A tax-based explanation," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 86(3), pages 579-607, December.
    30. Amir Sufi, 2009. "Bank Lines of Credit in Corporate Finance: An Empirical Analysis," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 22(3), pages 1057-1088.
    31. Jarrad Harford & Sandy Klasa & William F. Maxwell, 2014. "Refinancing Risk and Cash Holdings," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 69(3), pages 975-1012, June.
    32. Coady Wing & Seth M. Freedman & Alex Hollingsworth, 2024. "Stacked Difference-in-Differences," NBER Working Papers 32054, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    33. Fama, Eugene F & MacBeth, James D, 1973. "Risk, Return, and Equilibrium: Empirical Tests," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 81(3), pages 607-636, May-June.
    34. Hans Degryse & Nancy Masschelein & Janet Mitchell, 2011. "Staying, Dropping, or Switching: The Impacts of Bank Mergers on Small Firms," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 24(4), pages 1102-1140.
    35. Dittmar, Amy & Mahrt-Smith, Jan, 2007. "Corporate governance and the value of cash holdings," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 83(3), pages 599-634, March.
    36. Banerjee, Ryan N. & Gambacorta, Leonardo & Sette, Enrico, 2021. "The real effects of relationship lending✰," Journal of Financial Intermediation, Elsevier, vol. 48(C).
    37. Kahle, Kathleen M. & Stulz, René M., 2013. "Access to capital, investment, and the financial crisis," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 110(2), pages 280-299.
    38. Huajing Hu & Yili Lian & Chih-Huei Su, 2016. "Do bank lending relationships affect corporate cash policy?," Review of Accounting and Finance, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 15(4), pages 394-415, November.
    39. Bakke, Tor-Erik & Gu, Tiantian, 2017. "Diversification and cash dynamics," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 123(3), pages 580-601.
    40. James, Christopher & Lu, Jing & Sun, Yangfan, 2021. "Time is money: Real effects of relationship lending in a crisis," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 133(C).
    41. Victoria Ivashina & Anna Kovner, 2011. "The Private Equity Advantage: Leveraged Buyout Firms and Relationship Banking," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 24(7), pages 2462-2498.
    42. Shikimi, Masayo, 2019. "Bank relationships and corporate cash holdings," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 57(C).
    43. John R Graham & Mark T Leary, 2018. "The Evolution of Corporate Cash," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 31(11), pages 4288-4344.
    44. Li, Yan & Lu, Ruichang & Srinivasan, Anand, 2019. "Relationship Bank Behavior during Borrower Distress," Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 54(3), pages 1231-1262, June.
    45. Jun Qian & Philip E. Strahan, 2007. "How Laws and Institutions Shape Financial Contracts: The Case of Bank Loans," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 62(6), pages 2803-2834, December.
    46. Kristian S. Blickle & Quirin Fleckenstein & Sebastian Hillenbrand & Anthony Saunders, 2020. "Do Lead Arrangers Retain Their Lead Shares?," Staff Reports 922, Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
    47. Michael Schwert, 2018. "Bank Capital and Lending Relationships," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 73(2), pages 787-830, April.
    48. Sudheer Chava & Michael R. Roberts, 2008. "How Does Financing Impact Investment? The Role of Debt Covenants," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 63(5), pages 2085-2121, October.
    49. Barclay, Michael J & Smith, Clifford W, Jr, 1995. "The Maturity Structure of Corporate Debt," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 50(2), pages 609-631, June.
    50. Rajan, Raghuram G, 1992. "Insiders and Outsiders: The Choice between Informed and Arm's-Length Debt," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 47(4), pages 1367-1400, September.
    51. Robert Hauswald & Robert Marquez, 2006. "Competition and Strategic Information Acquisition in Credit Markets," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 19(3), pages 967-1000.
    52. Paola Sapienza, 2002. "The Effects of Banking Mergers on Loan Contracts," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 57(1), pages 329-367, February.
    53. Huajing Hu & Yili Lian & Chih-Huei Su, 2016. "Do bank lending relationships affect corporate cash policy?," Review of Accounting and Finance, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 15(4), pages 394-415, November.
    54. Begenau, Juliane & Palazzo, Berardino, 2021. "Firm selection and corporate cash holdings," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 139(3), pages 697-718.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Shikimi, Masayo, 2019. "Bank relationships and corporate cash holdings," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 57(C).
    2. Li, Xiafei & Luo, Di, 2020. "Increase in cash holdings of U.S. firms: The role of healthcare and technology industries," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 118(C), pages 286-298.
    3. Kaneko, Mana & Sasaki, Toshinori & Suzuki, Katsushi, 2025. "Bank–firm relationships and the value of cash: Evidence from the financial crisis in Japan," Journal of the Japanese and International Economies, Elsevier, vol. 76(C).
    4. Li, Xiaodan & Pan, Zikui & Ho, Kung-Cheng & Bo, Yu, 2024. "Epidemics, local institutional quality, and corporate cash holdings," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 92(C), pages 193-210.
    5. Chang, Ching-Hung & Chen, Sheng-Syan & Chen, Yan-Shing & Peng, Shu-Cing, 2019. "Commitment to build trust by socially responsible firms: Evidence from cash holdings," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 56(C), pages 364-387.
    6. May, Anthony D., 2014. "Corporate liquidity and the contingent nature of bank credit lines: Evidence on the costs and consequences of bank default," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 29(C), pages 410-429.
    7. Heitor Almeida & Murillo Campello & Igor Cunha & Michael S. Weisbach, 2014. "Corporate Liquidity Management: A Conceptual Framework and Survey," Annual Review of Financial Economics, Annual Reviews, vol. 6(1), pages 135-162, December.
    8. Ahrends, Meike & Drobetz, Wolfgang & Puhan, Tatjana Xenia, 2018. "Cyclicality of growth opportunities and the value of cash holdings," Journal of Financial Stability, Elsevier, vol. 37(C), pages 74-96.
    9. Efstathios Magerakis & Konstantinos Gkillas & Christos Floros & George Peppas, 2022. "Corporate R&D intensity and high cash holdings: post-crisis analysis," Operational Research, Springer, vol. 22(4), pages 3767-3808, September.
    10. Elyasiani, Elyas & Movaghari, Hadi, 2022. "Determinants of corporate cash holdings: An application of a robust variable selection technique," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 80(C), pages 967-993.
    11. Javadi, Siamak & Mollagholamali, Mohsen & Nejadmalayeri, Ali & Al-Thaqeb, Saud, 2021. "Corporate cash holdings, agency problems, and economic policy uncertainty," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 77(C).
    12. Caixe, Daniel Ferreira, 2025. "Policy uncertainty and cash holdings: The role of corporate governance in Brazil," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 80(C).
    13. Huang, Winifred & Mazouz, Khelifa, 2018. "Excess cash, trading continuity, and liquidity risk," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 48(C), pages 275-291.
    14. Chen, Hsuan-Chi & Chou, Robin K. & Lu, Chien-Lin, 2021. "Misvaluation and the corporate propensity to hold cash," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 70(C).
    15. Davide Dottori & Giacinto Micucci, 2018. "Corporate liquidity in Italy and its increase in the long recession," Economia Politica: Journal of Analytical and Institutional Economics, Springer;Fondazione Edison, vol. 35(3), pages 981-1014, December.
    16. Naiki, Eriko & Ogane, Yuta, 2024. "Main bank impairment and corporate cash holdings during the global financial crisis," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 86(C).
    17. Wenlian Gao & Feifei Zhu & Kai Chen, 2023. "The role of bank lenders in firm leverage adjustments," Journal of Financial Research, Southern Finance Association;Southwestern Finance Association, vol. 46(1), pages 63-97, February.
    18. Amess, Kevin & Banerji, Sanjay & Lampousis, Athanasios, 2015. "Corporate cash holdings: Causes and consequences," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 42(C), pages 421-433.
    19. Elyasiani, Elyas & Zhang, Ling, 2015. "CEO entrenchment and corporate liquidity management," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 54(C), pages 115-128.
    20. Marcelo Botelho da Costa Moraes & Aviner Augusto Silva Manoel & Jorge Carneiro, 2025. "Determinants of corporate cash holdings in private and public companies: insights from Latin America," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 65(4), pages 1433-1474, November.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;

    JEL classification:

    • G30 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - General
    • 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

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:corfin:v:94:y:2025:i:c:s0929119925001130. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/jcorpfin .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.