IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/finlet/v75y2025ics1544612325001205.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Exploring the correlation between financial leverage and corporate bond credit spreads

Author

Listed:
  • Lin, Zi
  • Yang, Qing
  • Chen, Shasha

Abstract

This research utilizes data from Chinese listed companies spanning the years 2012 to 2022 to conduct an in-depth examination of the interplay between financial leverage and corporate bond credit spreads. The findings reveal a nuanced relationship: at lower levels of financial leverage, the two exhibit a negative correlation, whereas at higher levels, they demonstrate a positive correlation. Furthermore, it is observed that robust internal control mechanisms and effective equity incentive programs can markedly mitigate the adverse effects of financial leverage on bond credit spreads. These insights offer crucial guidance for firms seeking to optimize their financial structures and mitigate credit risks.

Suggested Citation

  • Lin, Zi & Yang, Qing & Chen, Shasha, 2025. "Exploring the correlation between financial leverage and corporate bond credit spreads," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 75(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:finlet:v:75:y:2025:i:c:s1544612325001205
    DOI: 10.1016/j.frl.2025.106855
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1544612325001205
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.frl.2025.106855?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 search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Marques, Manuel O. & Pinto, João M., 2020. "A comparative analysis of ex ante credit spreads: Structured finance versus straight debt finance," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 62(C).
    2. Cathcart, Lara & Dufour, Alfonso & Rossi, Ludovico & Varotto, Simone, 2020. "The differential impact of leverage on the default risk of small and large firms," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 60(C).
    3. Okimoto, Tatsuyoshi & Takaoka, Sumiko, 2024. "Sustainability and credit spreads in Japan," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 91(C).
    4. Almaghrabi, Khadija S., 2022. "COVID-19 and the cost of bond debt: The role of corporate diversification," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 46(PB).
    5. Arnold, Grace E. & Rhodes, Meredith E., 2021. "Information sensitivity of corporate bonds: Evidence from the COVID-19 crisis," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 42(C).
    6. Lian, Yonghui & Ye, Tao & Zhang, Yiyang & Zhang, Lin, 2023. "How does corporate ESG performance affect bond credit spreads: Empirical evidence from China," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 85(C), pages 352-371.
    7. Saeed, Momna & Elnahass, Marwa & Izzeldin, Marwan & Tsionas, Mike, 2021. "Yield spread determinants of sukuk and conventional bonds," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 105(C).
    8. Chen, Hui & Xu, Yu & Yang, Jun, 2021. "Systematic risk, debt maturity, and the term structure of credit spreads," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 139(3), pages 770-799.
    9. Feldhütter, Peter & Schaefer, Stephen, 2023. "Debt dynamics and credit risk," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 149(3), pages 497-535.
    10. Ge, Yao & Liu, Yangshu & Qiao, Zheng & Shen, Zhe, 2020. "State ownership and the cost of debt: Evidence from corporate bond issuances in China," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 52(C).
    11. Sun, Chenhe & Ji, Yinuo & Chen, Zhenyun, 2023. "Insider selling and credit spread of corporate bonds1," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 58(PB).
    12. Yan Xie & Xin Wang & Kam C. Chan, 2023. "Does local gambling culture affect bond yield spread? Evidence from China," Applied Economics Letters, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 30(8), pages 1101-1106, May.
    13. Aly Zaher, Noha & Mohamed, Ehab K.A. & Basuony, Mohamed A.K., 2020. "The effect of timely loss recognition and accrual quality on corporate bond spread: The influence of legal and financial institutions," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 64(C).
    14. Kim, Jong-Min & Kim, Dong H. & Jung, Hojin, 2020. "Modeling non-normal corporate bond yield spreads by copula," The North American Journal of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 53(C).
    15. Xue, Fei & Wang, Xin & Xie, Yan & Zhang, Weihua, 2022. "Does CEO's early life experience affect corporate bond yield spread? Evidence from China's great famine," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 80(C), pages 1012-1024.
    16. Nozawa, Yoshio & Qiu, Yancheng, 2021. "Corporate bond market reactions to quantitative easing during the COVID-19 pandemic," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 133(C).
    17. Palazzo, Berardino & Yamarthy, Ram, 2022. "Credit risk and the transmission of interest rate shocks," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 130(C), pages 120-136.
    18. Chen, Yangyang & Saffar, Walid & Shan, Chenyu & Wang, Sarah Qian, 2023. "Credit default swaps and corporate debt structure," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 83(C).
    19. Eisenthal-Berkovitz, Yael & Feldhütter, Peter & Vig, Vikrant, 2020. "Leveraged buyouts and bond credit spreads," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 135(3), pages 577-601.
    20. Wang, Xin & Xie, Yan & Song, Di & Zhang, Weihua, 2022. "Do multiple large shareholders affect corporate bond yield spreads? Evidence from China," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 73(C).
    21. Dodd, Olga & Kalimipalli, Madhu & Chan, Wing, 2021. "Evaluating corporate credit risks in emerging markets," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 73(C).
    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. Liang, Shenbao & Li, Zhimin, 2025. "Transmission of guarantor risk and its influence on bond credit spreads," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 76(C).
    2. Alshammari, Saad & Andriosopoulos, Kostas & Kaabia, Olfa & Mohamed, Kamel Si & Urom, Christian, 2024. "The interplay among corporate bonds, geopolitical risks, equity market, and economic uncertainties," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 95(PA).
    3. Cao, Xiao & Gong, Xiaomin & Gu, Runsheng & Li, Yuhang & Liu, Xinyuan, 2024. "Do regional trusts alleviate bond market risks? Evidence from the Chinese municipal corporate bond pricing," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 96(PB).
    4. Ruan, Qingsong & Li, Chengyu & Lv, Dayong & Wei, Xiaokun, 2025. "Going Green: Effect of green bond issuance on corporate debt financing costs," The North American Journal of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 75(PA).
    5. Marco Lo Duca & Diego Moccero & Fabio Parlapiano, 2024. "The impact of macroeconomic and monetary policy shocks on the default risk of the euro-area corporate sector," Temi di discussione (Economic working papers) 1460, Bank of Italy, Economic Research and International Relations Area.
    6. Goldstein, Michael A. & Namin, Elmira Shekari, 2023. "Corporate bond liquidity and yield spreads: A review," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 65(C).
    7. Cao, Peng & Huang, Rong, 2025. "How does media attention affect corporate credit asset allocation efficiency?," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 75(C).
    8. Andrieş, Alin Marius & Ongena, Steven & Sprincean, Nicu, 2025. "Sectoral credit allocation and systemic risk," Journal of Financial Stability, Elsevier, vol. 76(C).
    9. Lo Duca, Marco & Moccero, Diego & Parlapiano, Fabio, 2024. "The impact of macroeconomic and monetary policy shocks on credit risk in the euro area corporate sector," Working Paper Series 2897, European Central Bank.
    10. Yu, Zhiyang & Yu, Kaibin & Ye, Ying & Wang, Canghong, 2024. "Corporate financialization and the spread of issuing bonds," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 59(C).
    11. Jiang, Zhiqian & Xu, Yue & Fang, Mei & Tang, Ziling & Tao, Chunhua, 2023. "How does the bond market price corporate ESG engagement? Evidence from China," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 78(C), pages 1406-1423.
    12. Wang, Jiaxin & Qiang, Haofan & Liang, Yuchao & Huang, Xiang & Zhong, Wenrui, 2024. "How carbon risk affects corporate debt defaults: Evidence from Paris agreement," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 129(C).
    13. Dai, Haiyan & Dong, Xueqin & Xue, Fang, 2024. "Corporate credit risk and bond yield spreads: Market reactions to the spreads," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 67(PB).
    14. Zhou, Mengling & Huang, Zizhen & Jiang, Kangqi, 2024. "Environmental, social, and governance performance and corporate debt maturity in China," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 95(PA).
    15. Feng, Jingyu & Yuan, Ying, 2024. "Green investors and corporate ESG performance: Evidence from China," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 60(C).
    16. Iqbal, Najaf & Bouri, Elie & Ozkan, Oktay, 2025. "The advantages of CBOE credit VIXs for corporate bond investors in North America: A sectoral analysis," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 73(PA).
    17. Fengler, Matthias & Koeniger, Winfried & Minger, Stephan, 2024. "The transmission of monetary policy to the cost of hedging," CFS Working Paper Series 726, Center for Financial Studies (CFS).
    18. Wang, Xiaoteng & Zhou, Bole & Li, Xiaoling, 2025. "Qualified foreign institutional investors and corporate ESG performance: Evidence from China," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 101(C).
    19. Xu, Xiaoying & Jin, Mei & Gong, Xinshu, 2024. "Local environmental goal constraint intensity and corporate ESG performance: An empirical observation based on China," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 62(PB).
    20. Hongqin Tang & Jianping Zhu & Nan Li & Weipeng Wu, 2024. "Impact of Enterprise Supply Chain Digitalization on Cost of Debt: A Four-Flows Perspective Analysis Using Explainable Machine Learning Methodology," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(19), pages 1-27, October.

    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:finlet:v:75:y:2025:i:c:s1544612325001205. 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/frl .

    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.