IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/kap/jfsres/v63y2023i2d10.1007_s10693-021-00372-x.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

How much do Investors Rely on Credit Ratings: Empirical evidence from the U.S. and E.U. CLO primary market

Author

Listed:
  • Frank Fabozzi

    (EDHEC Risk Institute, France)

  • Vivian M. Breemen

    (Nyenrode Business Universiteit, The Netherlands)

  • Dennis Vink

    (Nyenrode Business Universiteit, The Netherlands)

  • Mike Nawas

    (Nyenrode Business Universiteit, The Netherlands)

  • Austin Gengos

    (Gamut Capital Management, United States)

Abstract

We investigate the extent to which investors rely on credit ratings and other factors beyond credit ratings in determining the funding cost for collateralized loan obligations (CLOs) tranches in the period 1997-2015. We find significant differences between the United States (U.S.) and European Union (E.U.) markets. In the U.S., we find a much higher and more consistent degree of reliance on credit ratings and other factors in pricing CLOs over time compared to the E.U. market. Finally, we find that investors in both markets reduce, rather than increase, funding costs when rating standards loosened. The implications for market practices are discussed.

Suggested Citation

  • Frank Fabozzi & Vivian M. Breemen & Dennis Vink & Mike Nawas & Austin Gengos, 2023. "How much do Investors Rely on Credit Ratings: Empirical evidence from the U.S. and E.U. CLO primary market," Journal of Financial Services Research, Springer;Western Finance Association, vol. 63(2), pages 221-247, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:jfsres:v:63:y:2023:i:2:d:10.1007_s10693-021-00372-x
    DOI: 10.1007/s10693-021-00372-x
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s10693-021-00372-x
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s10693-021-00372-x?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. Jie He & Jun Qian & Philip E. Strahan, 2011. "Credit Ratings and the Evolution of the Mortgage-Backed Securities Market," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 101(3), pages 131-135, May.
    3. Marshall E. Blume & Felix Lim & A. Craig MacKinlay, "undated". "The Declining Credit Quality of US Corporate Debt: Myth or Reality?," Rodney L. White Center for Financial Research Working Papers 3-98, Wharton School Rodney L. White Center for Financial Research.
    4. Bar-Isaac, Heski & Shapiro, Joel, 2013. "Ratings quality over the business cycle," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 108(1), pages 62-78.
    5. Xiaoyang Zhuo & Guangli Xu & Yongjin Wang, 2017. "The Issuer-pays Business Model and Competitive Rating Market: Rating Network Structure," The Journal of Real Estate Finance and Economics, Springer, vol. 55(2), pages 216-241, August.
    6. Jie (Jack) He & Jun (Q. J.) Qian & Philip E. Strahan, 2016. "Does the Market Understand Rating Shopping? Predicting MBS Losses with Initial Yields," Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 29(2), pages 457-485.
    7. Patrick Bolton & Xavier Freixas & Joel Shapiro, 2012. "The Credit Ratings Game," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 67(1), pages 85-112, February.
    8. Yang, Liuyong & Wang, Rui & Chen, Zhenyi & Luo, Xingguo, 2020. "What determines the issue price of lease asset-backed securities in China?," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 72(C).
    9. Jie (Jack) He & Jun (Qj) Qian & Philip E. Strahan, 2012. "Are All Ratings Created Equal? The Impact of Issuer Size on the Pricing of Mortgage-Backed Securities," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 67(6), pages 2097-2137, December.
    10. Mitchell A. Petersen, 2009. "Estimating Standard Errors in Finance Panel Data Sets: Comparing Approaches," Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 22(1), pages 435-480, January.
    11. Vink, Dennis & Nawas, Mike & van Breemen, Vivian, 2021. "Security design and credit rating risk in the CLO market," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 72(C).
    12. Frank J. Fabozzi & Dennis Vink, 2012. "Looking Beyond Credit Ratings: Factors Investors Consider In Pricing European Asset†Backed Securities," European Financial Management, European Financial Management Association, vol. 18(4), pages 515-542, September.
    13. Marshall E. Blume & Felix Lim & A. Craig MacKinlay, "undated". "The Declining Credit Quality of US Corporate Debt: Myth or Reality?," Rodney L. White Center for Financial Research Working Papers 03-98, Wharton School Rodney L. White Center for Financial Research.
    14. John M. Griffin & Jordan Nickerson & Dragon Yongjun Tang, 2013. "Rating Shopping or Catering? An Examination of the Response to Competitive Pressure for CDO Credit Ratings," Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 26(9), pages 2270-2310.
    15. Becker, Bo & Milbourn, Todd, 2011. "How did increased competition affect credit ratings?," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 101(3), pages 493-514, September.
    16. Sean Flynn & Andra Ghent, 2018. "Competition and Credit Ratings After the Fall," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 64(4), pages 1672-1692, April.
    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. Vink, Dennis & Nawas, Mike & van Breemen, Vivian, 2021. "Security design and credit rating risk in the CLO market," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 72(C).
    2. Bae, Kee-Hong & Driss, Hamdi & Roberts, Gordon S., 2019. "Does competition affect ratings quality? Evidence from Canadian corporate bonds," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 58(C), pages 605-623.
    3. Agoraki, Maria-Eleni & Gounopoulos, Dimitrios & Kouretas, Georgios P., 2021. "Market expectations and the impact of credit rating on the IPOs of U.S. banks," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 189(C), pages 587-610.
    4. Chandan Sharma & Archana Singh & Rajan Yadav, 2023. "Impact of Competition in Credit Rating Industry: Evidence From India," SAGE Open, , vol. 13(1), pages 21582440221, January.
    5. Vink, Dennis & Nawas, Mike & van Breemen, Vivian, 2021. "Security design and credit rating risk in the CLO market," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 72(C).
    6. Xia, Han, 2014. "Can investor-paid credit rating agencies improve the information quality of issuer-paid rating agencies?," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 111(2), pages 450-468.
    7. Gerald J. Lobo & Luc Paugam & Hervé Stolowy & Pierre Astolfi, 2017. "The Effect of Business and Financial Market Cycles on Credit Ratings: Evidence from the Last Two Decades," Abacus, Accounting Foundation, University of Sydney, vol. 53(1), pages 59-93, March.
    8. van Breemen, Vivian M. & Fabozzi, Frank J. & Vink, Dennis, 2022. "Intensified competition and the impact on credit ratings in the RMBS market," Working Paper Series 2691, European Central Bank.
    9. Attig, Najah & Driss, Hamdi & El Ghoul, Sadok, 2021. "Credit ratings quality in uncertain times," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 75(C).
    10. Patrick Behr & Darren J. Kisgen & Jérôme P. Taillard, 2018. "Did Government Regulations Lead to Inflated Credit Ratings?," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 64(3), pages 1034-1054, March.
    11. Chen, Yongmin & Gu, Dingwei & Yao, Zhiyong, 2013. "Rating Inflation versus Deflation: On Procyclical Credit Ratings," MPRA Paper 51159, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    12. Jess N. Cornaggia & Kimberly J. Cornaggia & John E. Hund, 2017. "Credit Ratings Across Asset Classes: A Long-Term Perspective," Review of Finance, European Finance Association, vol. 21(2), pages 465-509.
    13. Attig, Najah & Driss, Hamdi & El Ghoul, Sadok, 2020. "Rating standards around the world: A puzzle?," Emerging Markets Review, Elsevier, vol. 45(C).
    14. Tao Wang, 2016. "Time-Varying Rating Standards and the Distorted Incentives of Credit Rating Agencies," Global Credit Review (GCR), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 6(01), pages 21-39.
    15. Nguyen, Quan M.P. & Do, Hung Xuan & Molchanov, Alexander & Nguyen, Lily & Nguyen, Nhut H., 2023. "Political similarities in credit ratings," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 86(C).
    16. Jess N. Cornaggia & Kimberly J. Cornaggia & Ryan D. Israelsen, 2020. "Where the Heart Is: Information Production and the Home Bias," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 66(12), pages 5532-5557, December.
    17. Drago, Danilo & Gallo, Raffaele, 2018. "Do multiple credit ratings affect syndicated loan spreads?," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 56(C), pages 1-16.
    18. Sean Flynn & Andra Ghent, 2018. "Competition and Credit Ratings After the Fall," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 64(4), pages 1672-1692, April.
    19. Vu, Huong & Alsakka, Rasha & ap Gwilym, Owain, 2022. "Does competition improve sovereign credit rating quality?," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 76(C).
    20. Farkas, Miklós, 2021. "Competition, communication and rating bias," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 189(C), pages 637-656.

    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:kap:jfsres:v:63:y:2023:i:2:d:10.1007_s10693-021-00372-x. 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: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    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.