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Seeking safety: The relation between CEO inside debt holdings and the riskiness of firm investment and financial policies

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  • Cassell, Cory A.
  • Huang, Shawn X.
  • Manuel Sanchez, Juan
  • Stuart, Michael D.
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    Abstract

    CEO inside debt holdings (pension benefits and deferred compensation) are generally unsecured and unfunded liabilities of the firm. Because these characteristics of inside debt expose the CEO to default risk similar to that faced by outside creditors, theory predicts that CEOs with large inside debt holdings will display lower levels of risk-seeking behavior (Jensen and Meckling, 1976). Consistent with the theoretical predictions, we find a negative association between CEO inside debt holdings and the volatility of future firm stock returns, R&D expenditures, and financial leverage, and a positive association between CEO inside debt holdings and the extent of diversification and asset liquidity. Collectively, our results provide empirical evidence suggesting that CEOs with large inside debt holdings prefer investment and financial policies that are less risky.

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    Article provided by Elsevier in its journal Journal of Financial Economics.

    Volume (Year): 103 (2012)
    Issue (Month): 3 ()
    Pages: 588-610

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    Handle: RePEc:eee:jfinec:v:103:y:2012:i:3:p:588-610
    Contact details of provider: Web page: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/inca/505576

    Keywords: Inside debt; Pensions; Deferred compensation; CEO incentives; Risk-seeking behavior;

    Find related papers by JEL classification:

    • G32 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Financing Policy; Financial Risk and Risk Management; Capital and Ownership Structure; Value of Firms; Goodwill
    • G33 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Bankruptcy; Liquidation

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    Cited by:

    1. Damon Morris & Ian Gregory-Smith & Brian Main & Alberto Montagnoli & Peter Wright, 2015. "The Impact of 'A - Day' on Executive Pensions and Pay for Performance," Working Papers 2015026, The University of Sheffield, Department of Economics.
    2. repec:zbw:iwhdps:20-16 is not listed on IDEAS
    3. Kabir, Rezaul & Li, Hao & Veld-Merkoulova, Yulia V., 2013. "Executive compensation and the cost of debt," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 37(8), pages 2893-2907.
    4. Alexander Ljungqvist & Liandong Zhang & Luo Zuo, 2015. "Sharing Risk with the Government: How Taxes Affect Corporate Risk-Taking," NBER Working Papers 21834, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    5. Edmans, Alex & Gabaix, Xavier, 2015. "Executive Compensation: A Modern Primer," CEPR Discussion Papers 10566, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    6. Belkhir, Mohamed & Boubaker, Sabri, 2013. "CEO inside debt and hedging decisions: Lessons from the U.S. banking industry," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 24(C), pages 223-246.
    7. Caliskan, Deren & Doukas, John A., 2015. "CEO risk preferences and dividend policy decisions," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 35(C), pages 18-42.
    8. Eisdorfer, Assaf & Giaccotto, Carmelo & White, Reilly, 2015. "Do corporate managers skimp on shareholders' dividends to protect their own retirement funds?," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 30(C), pages 257-277.
    9. Serfling, Matthew A., 2014. "CEO age and the riskiness of corporate policies," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 25(C), pages 251-273.
    10. repec:cte:wbrepe:wb1501 is not listed on IDEAS
    11. Bennett, Rosalind L. & Güntay, Levent & Unal, Haluk, 2015. "Inside debt, bank default risk, and performance during the crisis," Journal of Financial Intermediation, Elsevier, vol. 24(4), pages 487-513.
    12. Campbell, T. Colin & Galpin, Neal & Johnson, Shane A., 2016. "Optimal inside debt compensation and the value of equity and debt," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 119(2), pages 336-352.
    13. Stefano Colonnello & G. Curatola & N. G. Hoang, 2016. "Direct and Indirect Risk-taking Incentives of Inside Debt," IWH Discussion Papers 20, Halle Institute for Economic Research.
    14. Srivastav, Abhishek & Armitage, Seth & Hagendorff, Jens, 2014. "CEO inside debt holdings and risk-shifting: Evidence from bank payout policies," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 47(C), pages 41-53.
    15. Colonnello, Stefano & Curatola, Giuliano & Ngoc Giang Hoang, 2014. "Executive compensation structure and credit spreads," SAFE Working Paper Series 60, Research Center SAFE - Sustainable Architecture for Finance in Europe, Goethe University Frankfurt.
    16. Eisdorfer, Assaf & Giaccotto, Carmelo & White, Reilly, 2013. "Capital structure, executive compensation, and investment efficiency," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 37(2), pages 549-562.
    17. Pantzalis, Christos & Park, Jung Chul, 2014. "Too close for comfort? Geographic propinquity to political power and stock returns," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 48(C), pages 57-78.
    18. Colonnello, Stefano & Curatola, Giuliano & Ngoc Giang Hoang, 2016. "Direct and indirect risk-taking incentives of inside debt," IWH Discussion Papers 20/2016, Halle Institute for Economic Research (IWH).
    19. Liu, Yixin & Mauer, David C. & Zhang, Yilei, 2014. "Firm cash holdings and CEO inside debt," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 42(C), pages 83-100.

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