IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/pacfin/v90y2025ics0927538x24003949.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Regional financial risk and firms' access to trade credit: Evidence from China

Author

Listed:
  • Shi, Luqing
  • Yin, Zhujia
  • Zhang, Yun
  • Song, Linjia
  • Yang, Xin

Abstract

Regional financial risk, as a representative form of tangible financial risk, introduces heightened uncertainty into the external economic environment of firms. Different from previous studies on aggregate financial risk conditions, this paper focuses on the impact of regional financial risk on firms' access to trade credit. We find a robust negative relationship between regional financial risk and trade credit. Moreover, channel tests reveal that this relationship is achieved through increased cash holdings, reduced investment demand, and being in financial distress. Cross-sectional tests show that this effect is moderated for firms with high market power and high-tech attributes, as well as those located in regions with high levels of marketization processes, social trust, and bank loans. Further analysis indicates that the effect of regional financial risk on trade credit varies significantly across China's four economic regions. This paper contributes to the literature on the determinants of firms' access to trade credit and the empirical literature on China's geographically segmented financial markets.

Suggested Citation

  • Shi, Luqing & Yin, Zhujia & Zhang, Yun & Song, Linjia & Yang, Xin, 2025. "Regional financial risk and firms' access to trade credit: Evidence from China," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 90(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:pacfin:v:90:y:2025:i:c:s0927538x24003949
    DOI: 10.1016/j.pacfin.2024.102642
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0927538X24003949
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.pacfin.2024.102642?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. Smajlbegovic, Esad, 2019. "Regional Economic Activity and Stock Returns," Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 54(3), pages 1051-1082, June.
    2. Didier, Tatiana & Huneeus, Federico & Larrain, Mauricio & Schmukler, Sergio L., 2021. "Financing firms in hibernation during the COVID-19 pandemic," Journal of Financial Stability, Elsevier, vol. 53(C).
    3. Dung T. T. Tran & Hieu V. Phan, 2022. "Government economic policy uncertainty and corporate debt contracting," International Review of Finance, International Review of Finance Ltd., vol. 22(1), pages 169-199, March.
    4. Thomas Chaney & David Sraer & David Thesmar, 2012. "The Collateral Channel: How Real Estate Shocks Affect Corporate Investment," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 102(6), pages 2381-2409, October.
    5. Chen, Zhuo & He, Zhiguo & Liu, Chun, 2020. "The financing of local government in China: Stimulus loan wanes and shadow banking waxes," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 137(1), pages 42-71.
    6. Yi Huang & Marco Pagano & Ugo Panizza, 2020. "Local Crowding‐Out in China," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 75(6), pages 2855-2898, December.
    7. Pevzner, Mikhail & Xie, Fei & Xin, Xiangang, 2015. "When firms talk, do investors listen? The role of trust in stock market reactions to corporate earnings announcements," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 117(1), pages 190-223.
    8. Gonçalves, Adalto Barbaceia & Schiozer, Rafael F. & Sheng, Hsia Hua, 2018. "Trade credit and product market power during a financial crisis," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 49(C), pages 308-323.
    9. Uribe, Martin & Yue, Vivian Z., 2006. "Country spreads and emerging countries: Who drives whom?," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 69(1), pages 6-36, June.
    10. Beck, Thorsten & Demirguc-Kunt, Asli & Laeven, Luc & Maksimovic, Vojislav, 2006. "The determinants of financing obstacles," Journal of International Money and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 25(6), pages 932-952, October.
    11. Su, Kun & Zhao, Yan & Wang, Yinghui, 2024. "Customer concentration and corporate financialization: Evidence from non-financial firms in China," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 68(C).
    12. Sylvain Benoit & Jean-Edouard Colliard & Christophe Hurlin & Christophe Pérignon, 2017. "Where the Risks Lie: A Survey on Systemic Risk," Review of Finance, European Finance Association, vol. 21(1), pages 109-152.
    13. Wei‐Fong Pan & James Reade & Shixuan Wang, 2022. "Measuring US regional economic uncertainty," Journal of Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 62(4), pages 1149-1178, September.
    14. Jie Ning, 2022. "Strategic Trade Credit in a Supply Chain with Buyer Competition," Manufacturing & Service Operations Management, INFORMS, vol. 24(4), pages 2183-2201, July.
    15. Johannes Stroebel & Joseph Vavra, 2019. "House Prices, Local Demand, and Retail Prices," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 127(3), pages 1391-1436.
    16. Jory, Surendranath R. & Khieu, Hinh D. & Ngo, Thanh N. & Phan, Hieu V., 2020. "The influence of economic policy uncertainty on corporate trade credit and firm value," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 64(C).
    17. Gyimah, Daniel & Machokoto, Michael & Sikochi, Anywhere (Siko), 2020. "Peer influence on trade credit," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 64(C).
    18. Mai, Yong & Meng, Lei & Ye, Zhiqiang, 2017. "Regional variation in the capital structure adjustment speed of listed firms: Evidence from China," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 64(C), pages 288-294.
    19. Phan, Hieu V. & Nguyen, Nam H. & Nguyen, Hien T. & Hegde, Shantaram, 2019. "Policy uncertainty and firm cash holdings," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 95(C), pages 71-82.
    20. Illing, Mark & Liu, Ying, 2006. "Measuring financial stress in a developed country: An application to Canada," Journal of Financial Stability, Elsevier, vol. 2(3), pages 243-265, October.
    21. Scott R. Baker & Nicholas Bloom & Steven J. Davis, 2016. "Measuring Economic Policy Uncertainty," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 131(4), pages 1593-1636.
    22. 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.
    23. Mariassunta Giannetti & Mike Burkart & Tore Ellingsen, 2011. "What You Sell Is What You Lend? Explaining Trade Credit Contracts," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 24(4), pages 1261-1298.
    24. Lian, Yili, 2017. "Financial distress and customer-supplier relationships," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 43(C), pages 397-406.
    25. Campello, Murillo & Gao, Janet, 2017. "Customer concentration and loan contract terms," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 123(1), pages 108-136.
    26. Bonaime, Alice & Gulen, Huseyin & Ion, Mihai, 2018. "Does policy uncertainty affect mergers and acquisitions?," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 129(3), pages 531-558.
    27. Zhang, Yun & Liu, Yun & Tang, Yicheng & Gao, Qun, 2024. "Large shareholders' stock selling and corporate performance: Evidence from China," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 86(C).
    28. Love, Inessa & Preve, Lorenzo A. & Sarria-Allende, Virginia, 2007. "Trade credit and bank credit: Evidence from recent financial crises," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 83(2), pages 453-469, February.
    29. Duong, Huu Nhan & Nguyen, Justin Hung & Nguyen, My & Rhee, S. Ghon, 2020. "Navigating through economic policy uncertainty: The role of corporate cash holdings," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 62(C).
    30. Qian, Xianhang & Qiu, Shanyun & Zhang, Guangli, 2021. "The impact of COVID-19 on housing price: Evidence from China," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 43(C).
    31. Dungey, Mardi & Flavin, Thomas & O'Connor, Thomas & Wosser, Michael, 2022. "Non-financial corporations and systemic risk," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 72(C).
    32. Matthias Kahl & Anil Shivdasani & Yihui Wang, 2015. "Short-Term Debt as Bridge Financing: Evidence from the Commercial Paper Market," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 70(1), pages 211-255, February.
    33. Park, Cyn-Young & Mercado, Rogelio V., 2014. "Determinants of financial stress in emerging market economies," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 45(C), pages 199-224.
    34. D'Mello, Ranjan & Toscano, Francesca, 2020. "Economic policy uncertainty and short-term financing: The case of trade credit," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 64(C).
    35. repec:hal:spmain:info:hdl:2441/75koqefued8i7pihbrl9u84p4u is not listed on IDEAS
    36. Jae-Kwang Hwang, 2014. "Spillover Effects of the 2008 Financial Crisis in Latin America Stock Markets," International Advances in Economic Research, Springer;International Atlantic Economic Society, vol. 20(3), pages 311-324, August.
    37. Francis, Bill & Hasan, Iftekhar & Liu, Liuling & Wu, Qiang & Zhao, Yijiang, 2021. "Financial analysts' career concerns and the cost of private debt," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 67(C).
    38. Craig S. Hakkio & William R. Keeton, 2009. "Financial stress: what is it, how can it be measured, and why does it matter?," Economic Review, Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, vol. 94(Q II), pages 5-50.
    39. Emilia Garcia‐Appendini & Judit Montoriol‐Garriga, 2020. "Trade Credit Use as Firms Approach Default," Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 52(5), pages 1199-1229, August.
    40. Wang, Yizhong & Wang, Ting & Chen, Lifang, 2021. "Maturity mismatches of Chinese listed firms," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 70(C).
    41. Ghosh, Amit, 2015. "Banking-industry specific and regional economic determinants of non-performing loans: Evidence from US states," Journal of Financial Stability, Elsevier, vol. 20(C), pages 93-104.
    42. Fabbri, Daniela & Klapper, Leora F., 2016. "Bargaining power and trade credit," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 41(C), pages 66-80.
    43. Truong, Chi & Sheen, Jeffrey & Trück, Stefan & Villafuerte, James, 2022. "Early warning systems using dynamic factor models: An application to Asian economies," Journal of Financial Stability, Elsevier, vol. 58(C).
    44. Liu, Qigui & Luo, Jinbo & Tian, Gary Gang, 2016. "Managerial professional connections versus political connections: Evidence from firms' access to informal financing resources," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 41(C), pages 179-200.
    45. Bernile, Gennaro & Korniotis, George & Kumar, Alok & Wang, Qin, 2015. "Local Business Cycles and Local Liquidity," Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 50(5), pages 987-1010, October.
    46. Ang, James S. & Cheng, Yingmei & Wu, Chaopeng, 2015. "Trust, Investment, and Business Contracting," Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 50(3), pages 569-595, June.
    47. Chen, Shenglan & Ma, Hui & Wu, Qiang, 2019. "Bank credit and trade credit: Evidence from natural experiments," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 108(C).
    48. Jawad M Addoum & Alok Kumar & Nhan Le & Alexandra Niessen-Ruenzi, 2020. "Local Bankruptcy and Geographic Contagion in the Bank Loan Market," Review of Finance, European Finance Association, vol. 24(5), pages 997-1037.
    49. Bae, Kee-Hong & El Ghoul, Sadok & Gong, Zhaoran (Jason) & Guedhami, Omrane, 2021. "Does CSR matter in times of crisis? Evidence from the COVID-19 pandemic," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 67(C).
    50. Tang, Chun & Lai, Xiaobing & Liu, Xiaoxing, 2024. "Unlocking the power of roots: Local CEOs and corporate maturity mismatch," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 86(C).
    51. Dessaint, Olivier & Matray, Adrien, 2017. "Do managers overreact to salient risks? Evidence from hurricane strikes," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 126(1), pages 97-121.
    52. Garcia-Appendini, Emilia & Montoriol-Garriga, Judit, 2013. "Firms as liquidity providers: Evidence from the 2007–2008 financial crisis," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 109(1), pages 272-291.
    53. Ding, Feng & Liu, Qiliang & Shi, Hanzhong & Wang, Wenming & Wu, Shan, 2023. "Firms' access to informal financing: The role of shared managers in trade credit access," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 79(C).
    54. Edward I. Altman, 1968. "Financial Ratios, Discriminant Analysis And The Prediction Of Corporate Bankruptcy," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 23(4), pages 589-609, September.
    55. Williamson, Oliver E, 1993. "Calculativeness, Trust, and Economic Organization," Journal of Law and Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 36(1), pages 453-486, April.
    56. Fu, Xiaoqing Maggie & Harrison, Richard T. & Li, Dongfu Franco, 2022. "Venture capital investment in university spin-offs: Evidence from an emerging economy," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 74(C).
    57. Chod, Jiri & Lyandres, Evgeny & Yang, S. Alex, 2019. "Trade credit and supplier competition," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 131(2), pages 484-505.
    58. Yang, Junhong & Guariglia, Alessandra & Peng, Yuchao & Shi, Yukun, 2022. "Inventory investment and the choice of financing: Does financial development play a role?," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 74(C).
    59. Sylvain Benoit & Jean-Edouard Colliard & Christophe Hurlin & Christophe Pérignon, 2017. "Where the Risks Lie: A Survey on Systemic Risk," Review of Finance, European Finance Association, vol. 21(1), pages 109-152.
    60. Tojeiro-Rivero, Damián & Moreno, Rosina, 2019. "Technological cooperation, R&D outsourcing, and innovation performance at the firm level: The role of the regional context," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 48(7), pages 1798-1808.
    61. Cody Yu-Ling Hsiao & James Morley, 2022. "Debt and financial market contagion," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 62(4), pages 1599-1648, April.
    62. Li, Yulong, 2024. "The nexus between local government debt risk, real estate sector, and financial stability," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 69(PA).
    63. C. Edward Fee & Charles J. Hadlock & Shawn Thomas, 2006. "Corporate Equity Ownership and the Governance of Product Market Relationships," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 61(3), pages 1217-1251, June.
    64. Song, Jeongseop & Zhang, Fan, 2024. "Regional market uncertainty and corporate investment," The North American Journal of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 69(PB).
    65. Nishant Dass & Jayant R. Kale & Vikram Nanda, 2015. "Trade Credit, Relationship-specific Investment, and Product Market Power," Review of Finance, European Finance Association, vol. 19(5), pages 1867-1923.
    66. Gao, Haoyu & Ru, Hong & Tang, Dragon Yongjun, 2021. "Subnational debt of China: The politics-finance nexus," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 141(3), pages 881-895.
    67. Luo, Haowen, 2022. "COVID-19 and trade credit speed of adjustment," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 47(PA).
    68. Wu, Wenfeng & Firth, Michael & Rui, Oliver M., 2014. "Trust and the provision of trade credit," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 39(C), pages 146-159.
    69. Abdulla, Yomna & Dang, Viet Anh & Khurshed, Arif, 2017. "Stock market listing and the use of trade credit: Evidence from public and private firms," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 46(C), pages 391-410.
    70. Li, Xiaorong & Wang, Steven Shuye & Wang, Xue, 2019. "Trust and IPO underpricing," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 56(C), pages 224-248.
    71. García, Diego & Norli, Øyvind, 2012. "Geographic dispersion and stock returns," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 106(3), pages 547-565.
    72. Sreedhar T. Bharath & Tyler Shumway, 2008. "Forecasting Default with the Merton Distance to Default Model," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 21(3), pages 1339-1369, May.
    73. repec:spo:wpmain:info:hdl:2441/75koqefued8i7pihbrl9u84p4u is not listed on IDEAS
    74. Dioikitopoulos, Evangelos V., 2018. "Dynamic adjustment of fiscal policy under a debt crisis," Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Elsevier, vol. 93(C), pages 260-276.
    75. Maria Boutchkova & Hitesh Doshi & Art Durnev & Alexander Molchanov, 2012. "Precarious Politics and Return Volatility," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 25(4), pages 1111-1154.
    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. D'Mello, Ranjan & Toscano, Francesca, 2020. "Economic policy uncertainty and short-term financing: The case of trade credit," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 64(C).
    2. Yuming Zhang & Han Liu & Shuang Li & Chao Xing, 2023. "The Digital Transformation Effect in Trade Credit Uptake: The Buyer Perspective," Emerging Markets Finance and Trade, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 59(7), pages 2056-2078, May.
    3. Lai, Shaojie & Chen, Lihan & Wang, Qing Sophie & Anderson, Hamish, 2022. "Natural disasters, trade credit, and firm performance," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 116(C).
    4. Tarkom, Augustine & Yang, Lukai, 2024. "Presidential economic approval rating and trade credit," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 93(C).
    5. Vo, Hong & Phan, Anh & Trinh, Quoc-Dat & Vu, Linh Nhat, 2022. "Does economic policy uncertainty affect trade credit and firm value in Korea? A comparison of chaebol vs. non-chaebol firms," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 73(C), pages 474-491.
    6. Song, Gaoya & Li, Quan, 2025. "Big data in tax enforcement and trade credit: Evidence from China," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 76(C).
    7. Liu Hong & Tianpeng Zhou, 2024. "Firm-level political risk and the firm’s trade credit extension," Journal of Economics and Finance, Springer;Academy of Economics and Finance, vol. 48(3), pages 857-888, September.
    8. 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).
    9. Xin, Zhuoyao & Zhang, Zongyi & Xiang, Cheng, 2024. "Do suppliers value clients’ ESG profiles? Evidence from Chinese firms," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 91(C), pages 241-258.
    10. 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).
    11. Zhou, Zhongsheng & Li, Zhuo, 2023. "Corporate digital transformation and trade credit financing," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 160(C).
    12. Stefano Filomeni & Michele Modina & Elena Tabacco, 2023. "Trade credit and firm investments: empirical evidence from Italian cooperative banks," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 60(3), pages 1099-1141, April.
    13. Altunok, Fatih & Mitchell, Karlyn & Pearce, Douglas K., 2020. "The trade credit channel and monetary policy transmission: Empirical evidence from U.S. panel data," The Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 78(C), pages 226-250.
    14. He, Ye & Li, Bingqian & Yu, Yunqiao & Zhang, Xiao, 2024. "The impact of trade policy uncertainty on short-term financing," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 94(C).
    15. Hasan, Mostafa Monzur & Alam, Nurul, 2022. "Asset redeployability and trade credit," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 80(C).
    16. Li, Tongxia & Lu, Chun & Wang, Hui, 2023. "Stakeholder orientation and trade credit: Evidence from a natural experiment," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 87(C), pages 15-34.
    17. Abdulla, Yomna & Dang, Viet Anh & Khurshed, Arif, 2020. "Suppliers' listing status and trade credit provision," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 60(C).
    18. Nguyen, Giang & Vo, Vinh, 2024. "Economic policy uncertainty around the world: Implications for Vietnam," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 94(C).
    19. Manh Cuong Nguyen & Viet Anh Dang & Tri Tri Nguyen, 2023. "The transfer of risk taking along the supply chain," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 61(4), pages 1341-1378, November.
    20. Nguyen, Duc Nguyen & Nguyen, Canh Phuc & Dang, Le Phuong Xuan, 2022. "Uncertainty and corporate default risk: Novel evidence from emerging markets," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 78(C).

    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:pacfin:v:90:y:2025:i:c:s0927538x24003949. 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/pacfin .

    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.