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Debt ownership structure and legal system: an international analysis

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  • Felix J. Lopez Iturriaga

Abstract

This paper is concerned with the ownership structure of corporate debt from an institutional perspective. An attempt is made to identify the factors affecting bank debt use from an international sample of companies from Austria, Germany, Japan, Belgium, France, Italy, Holland, Spain, Portugal, Finland, Sweden and the USA. The results show that bank debt depends both on factors specific to each company and on institutional features of each country. More exactly, it is found that bank loans are related to firm size, to the quality and risk of the projects, and to the collateral. It is also found that a number of legal-institutional factors are impacting on the source of firms' debt, such as creditor protection, firm disclosure requirements and law enforcement.

Suggested Citation

  • Felix J. Lopez Iturriaga, 2005. "Debt ownership structure and legal system: an international analysis," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 37(3), pages 355-365.
  • Handle: RePEc:taf:applec:v:37:y:2005:i:3:p:355-365
    DOI: 10.1080/0003684042000295269
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    1. Requejo, Ignacio & Reyes-Reina, Fernando & Sanchez-Bueno, Maria J. & Suárez-González, Isabel, 2018. "European family firms and acquisition propensity: A comprehensive analysis of the legal system’s role," Journal of Family Business Strategy, Elsevier, vol. 9(1), pages 44-58.
    2. Meng-Fen Hsieh & Chung-Hua Shen, 2011. "Business cycles and bank regulations - what happens to bank provisioning? A more comprehensive look at 49 countries," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 43(21), pages 2811-2822.
    3. James Gander, 2009. "Equity valuation under Bull and Bear market regimes in South East Asia firms: a switching regression approach," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 43(7), pages 837-844.
    4. Esther Del Brio & Elida Maia-Ramires & Alberto De Miguel, 2011. "Ownership structure and diversification in a scenario of weak shareholder protection," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 43(29), pages 4537-4547.

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