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Credit default swap spreads and annual report readability

Author

Listed:
  • Nan Hu

    (Xi’an Jiaotong University
    Stevens Institute of Technology)

  • Ling Liu

    (University of Wisconsin)

  • Lu Zhu

    (California State University)

Abstract

This paper investigates whether annual report readability matters to CDS market participants and how it affects their evaluation on a firm’s credit risk, as measured by CDS spreads. We find that the less readable the annual reports, the higher the CDS spreads. Furthermore, the impact of readability on CDS spreads is more concentrated on firms with high information asymmetry and with investment grade ratings. Our results suggest that investors take into account the readability in their view of the firms’ credit risk. Creditors appear to suffer higher cost on CDS protection of the debts if the underlying firms have less readable annual reports.

Suggested Citation

  • Nan Hu & Ling Liu & Lu Zhu, 2018. "Credit default swap spreads and annual report readability," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 50(2), pages 591-621, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:rqfnac:v:50:y:2018:i:2:d:10.1007_s11156-017-0639-8
    DOI: 10.1007/s11156-017-0639-8
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    Cited by:

    1. Jieyan Fang-Klingler, 2019. "Impact of Readability on Corporate Bond Market," JRFM, MDPI, vol. 12(4), pages 1-18, December.
    2. Saker Sabkha & Christian Peretti & Dorra Hmaied, 2019. "The Credit Default Swap market contagion during recent crises: international evidence," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 53(1), pages 1-46, July.
    3. Peng Liang & Nan Hu & Ling Liu & Ting Zhang, 2023. "Managerial tone and investors' hedging activities: Evidence from credit default swaps," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 63(4), pages 3971-3998, December.
    4. Yang, Shanxiang & Liu, Zhechen & Wang, Xinjie, 2020. "News sentiment, credit spreads, and information asymmetry," The North American Journal of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 52(C).
    5. Kalelkar, Rachana & Xu, Hongkang & Nguyen, Duong & Chen, Zheng, 2024. "Generalist CEOs and the readability of the 10-K report," Advances in accounting, Elsevier, vol. 65(C).
    6. Zhang, Heng-Guo & CAO, Tingting & Li, Houxuan & Xu, Tiantian, 2021. "Dynamic measurement of news-driven information friction in China's carbon market: Theory and evidence," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 95(C).
    7. Haoyi Yang & Shikong Luo, 2023. "A dark side to options trading? Evidence from corporate default risk," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 60(2), pages 531-564, February.
    8. Hsin-Hui Chiu & Eva Wagner, 2020. "CEO Bonus Pay and Firm Credit Risk," International Journal of Risk and Contingency Management (IJRCM), IGI Global, vol. 9(1), pages 1-19, January.
    9. Hu, Nan & Liang, Peng & Liu, Ling & Zhu, Lu, 2022. "The bullwhip effect and credit default swap market: A study based on firm-specific bullwhip effect measure," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 84(C).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Credit default swap (CDS); Credit risk; Annual report readability; 10-K;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • G13 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - Contingent Pricing; Futures Pricing
    • G14 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - Information and Market Efficiency; Event Studies; Insider Trading
    • D82 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty - - - Asymmetric and Private Information; Mechanism Design

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