IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/dar/wpaper/77927.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Do Investors Still Rely on Credit Rating Agencies? Evidence from the Financial Crisis

Author

Listed:
  • Kiesel, F.

Abstract

The global financial crisis brought increased attention to the importance of rating agencies. The broad consensus was that the rating agencies were unable to detect any deterioration of the issuer’s credit quality in a timely manner. This study analyzes the credit default swaps (CDSs) and stock market response to rating changes during the financial crisis and subsequent years. The sample includes 542 companies from the United States and 15 European countries and examines 915 corporate issuer ratings. The results show that there is no CDS market response to rating announcements during the crisis but that the stock market anticipates downgrade announcements.

Suggested Citation

  • Kiesel, F., 2016. "Do Investors Still Rely on Credit Rating Agencies? Evidence from the Financial Crisis," Publications of Darmstadt Technical University, Institute for Business Studies (BWL) 77927, Darmstadt Technical University, Department of Business Administration, Economics and Law, Institute for Business Studies (BWL).
    • Handle: RePEc:dar:wpaper:77927
    Note: for complete metadata visit http://tubiblio.ulb.tu-darmstadt.de/77927/
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.iijournals.com/doi/abs/10.3905/jfi.2016.25.4.020
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Daniele Pianeselli & Andrea Zaghini, 2014. "The cost of firms� debt financing and the global financial crisis," Temi di discussione (Economic working papers) 950, Bank of Italy, Economic Research and International Relations Area.
    2. Francis A. Longstaff & Sanjay Mithal & Eric Neis, 2005. "Corporate Yield Spreads: Default Risk or Liquidity? New Evidence from the Credit Default Swap Market," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 60(5), pages 2213-2253, October.
    3. Borensztein, Eduardo & Cowan, Kevin & Valenzuela, Patricio, 2013. "Sovereign ceilings “lite”? The impact of sovereign ratings on corporate ratings," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 37(11), pages 4014-4024.
    4. Florian Kiesel & Felix Lücke & Dirk Schiereck, 2015. "Regulation of uncovered sovereign credit default swaps – evidence from the European Union," Journal of Risk Finance, Emerald Group Publishing, vol. 16(4), pages 425-443, August.
    5. Boehmer, Ekkehart & Masumeci, Jim & Poulsen, Annette B., 1991. "Event-study methodology under conditions of event-induced variance," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 30(2), pages 253-272, December.
    6. Arnoud W. A. Boot & Todd T. Milbourn & Anjolein Schmeits, 2006. "Credit Ratings as Coordination Mechanisms," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 19(1), pages 81-118.
    7. Galil, Koresh & Soffer, Gil, 2011. "Good news, bad news and rating announcements: An empirical investigation," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 35(11), pages 3101-3119, November.
    8. Corrado, Charles J. & Zivney, Terry L., 1992. "The Specification and Power of the Sign Test in Event Study Hypothesis Tests Using Daily Stock Returns," Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 27(3), pages 465-478, September.
    9. Bannier, Christina E. & Hirsch, Christian W., 2010. "The economic function of credit rating agencies - What does the watchlist tell us?," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 34(12), pages 3037-3049, December.
    10. David Michayluk & Karyn L. Neuhauser, 2006. "Investor Overreaction During Market Declines: Evidence From The 1997 Asian Financial Crisis," Journal of Financial Research, Southern Finance Association;Southwestern Finance Association, vol. 29(2), pages 217-234, June.
    11. Pianeselli, Daniele & Zaghini, Andrea, 2014. "The cost of firms’ debt financing and the global financial crisis," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 11(2), pages 74-83.
    12. Fama, Eugene F & French, Kenneth R, 1996. "Multifactor Explanations of Asset Pricing Anomalies," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 51(1), pages 55-84, March.
    13. Acharya, Viral V. & Johnson, Timothy C., 2007. "Insider trading in credit derivatives," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 84(1), pages 110-141, April.
    14. Jegadeesh, Narasimhan & Titman, Sheridan, 1993. "Returns to Buying Winners and Selling Losers: Implications for Stock Market Efficiency," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 48(1), pages 65-91, March.
    15. Jorion, Philippe & Liu, Zhu & Shi, Charles, 2005. "Informational effects of regulation FD: evidence from rating agencies," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 76(2), pages 309-330, May.
    16. Hand, John R M & Holthausen, Robert W & Leftwich, Richard W, 1992. "The Effect of Bond Rating Agency Announcements on Bond and Stock Prices," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 47(2), pages 733-752, June.
    17. Imbierowicz, Björn & Wahrenburg, Mark, 2013. "Wealth transfer effects between stockholders and bondholders," The Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 53(1), pages 23-43.
    18. Finnerty, John D. & Miller, Cameron D. & Chen, Ren-Raw, 2013. "The impact of credit rating announcements on credit default swap spreads," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 37(6), pages 2011-2030.
    19. Klein, Christian & Stellner, Christoph, 2014. "Does sovereign risk matter? New evidence from eurozone corporate bond ratings and zero-volatility spreads," Review of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 23(2), pages 64-74.
    20. Kiesel, F. & Lücke, F. & Schiereck, D., 2015. "Regulation of uncovered sovereign credit default swaps – evidence from the European Union," Publications of Darmstadt Technical University, Institute for Business Studies (BWL) 74937, Darmstadt Technical University, Department of Business Administration, Economics and Law, Institute for Business Studies (BWL).
    21. Holthausen, Robert W. & Leftwich, Richard W., 1986. "The effect of bond rating changes on common stock prices," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 17(1), pages 57-89, September.
    22. Norden, Lars & Weber, Martin, 2004. "Informational efficiency of credit default swap and stock markets: The impact of credit rating announcements," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 28(11), pages 2813-2843, November.
    23. Goh, Jeremy C & Ederington, Louis H, 1993. "Is a Bond Rating Downgrade Bad News, Good News, or No News for Stockholders?," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 48(5), pages 2001-2008, December.
    24. Hull, John & Predescu, Mirela & White, Alan, 2004. "The relationship between credit default swap spreads, bond yields, and credit rating announcements," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 28(11), pages 2789-2811, November.
    25. Ilia D. Dichev & Joseph D. Piotroski, 2001. "The Long‐Run Stock Returns Following Bond Ratings Changes," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 56(1), pages 173-203, February.
    26. Kiesel, F. & Schiereck, D., 2015. "The Effect of Ratings Announcements on Firms in Bank-Based Systems," Publications of Darmstadt Technical University, Institute for Business Studies (BWL) 72729, Darmstadt Technical University, Department of Business Administration, Economics and Law, Institute for Business Studies (BWL).
    27. Duff, Angus & Einig, Sandra, 2009. "Understanding credit ratings quality: Evidence from UK debt market participants," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 41(2), pages 107-119.
    28. Carhart, Mark M, 1997. "On Persistence in Mutual Fund Performance," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 52(1), pages 57-82, March.
    29. Reint Gropp & Anthony J. Richards, 2001. "Rating Agency Actions and the Pricing of Debt and Equity of European Banks: What Can we Infer About Private Sector Monitoring of Bank Soundness?," Economic Notes, Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena SpA, vol. 30(3), pages 373-398, November.
    30. Goh, Jeremy C. & Ederington, Louis H., 1999. "Cross-sectional variation in the stock market reaction to bond rating changes," The Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 39(1), pages 101-112.
    31. Lars Norden & Martin Weber, 2009. "The Co†movement of Credit Default Swap, Bond and Stock Markets: an Empirical Analysis," European Financial Management, European Financial Management Association, vol. 15(3), pages 529-562, June.
    32. Fama, Eugene F. & French, Kenneth R., 1993. "Common risk factors in the returns on stocks and bonds," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 33(1), pages 3-56, February.
    33. G. Ferri & L.-G. Liu & J. E. Stiglitz, 1999. "The Procyclical Role of Rating Agencies: Evidence from the East Asian Crisis," Economic Notes, Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena SpA, vol. 28(3), pages 335-355, November.
    34. Roberto Blanco & Simon Brennan & Ian W. Marsh, 2005. "An Empirical Analysis of the Dynamic Relation between Investment‐Grade Bonds and Credit Default Swaps," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 60(5), pages 2255-2281, October.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    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. 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).
    3. Hübel, Benjamin, 2022. "Do markets value ESG risks in sovereign credit curves?," The Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 85(C), pages 134-148.
    4. Yang, Heejin & Ahn, Hee-Joon & Kim, Maria H. & Ryu, Doojin, 2017. "Information asymmetry and investor trading behavior around bond rating change announcements," Emerging Markets Review, Elsevier, vol. 32(C), pages 38-51.

    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. Kiesel, Florian, 2016. "The effect of credit and rating events on credit default swap and equity markets," Publications of Darmstadt Technical University, Institute for Business Studies (BWL) 81265, Darmstadt Technical University, Department of Business Administration, Economics and Law, Institute for Business Studies (BWL).
    2. Kiesel, F., 2016. "The effect of credit and rating events on credit default swap and equity markets," Publications of Darmstadt Technical University, Institute for Business Studies (BWL) 81247, Darmstadt Technical University, Department of Business Administration, Economics and Law, Institute for Business Studies (BWL).
    3. Kiesel, F. & Kolaric, S., 2018. "Measuring the effect of watch-preceded and direct rating changes: a note on credit markets," Publications of Darmstadt Technical University, Institute for Business Studies (BWL) 87386, Darmstadt Technical University, Department of Business Administration, Economics and Law, Institute for Business Studies (BWL).
    4. Florian Kiesel & Sascha Kolaric, 2018. "Measuring the effect of watch-preceded and direct rating changes: a note on credit markets," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 50(2), pages 653-672, February.
    5. Norden, Lars, 2017. "Information in CDS spreads," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 75(C), pages 118-135.
    6. Imbierowicz, Björn & Wahrenburg, Mark, 2013. "Wealth transfer effects between stockholders and bondholders," The Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 53(1), pages 23-43.
    7. Florian Kiesel, 2021. "It's the tone, stupid! Soft information in credit rating reports and financial markets," Journal of Financial Research, Southern Finance Association;Southwestern Finance Association, vol. 44(3), pages 553-585, September.
    8. Kiesel, Florian & Kolaric, Sascha & Norden, Lars & Schiereck, Dirk, 2021. "To change or not to change? The CDS market response of firms on credit watch," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 125(C).
    9. Yang, Heejin & Ahn, Hee-Joon & Kim, Maria H. & Ryu, Doojin, 2017. "Information asymmetry and investor trading behavior around bond rating change announcements," Emerging Markets Review, Elsevier, vol. 32(C), pages 38-51.
    10. G. Marandola & R. Mossucca, 2016. "When did the stock market start to react less to downgrades by Moody s, S&P and Fitch?," Working Papers wp1066, Dipartimento Scienze Economiche, Universita' di Bologna.
    11. Ginevra Marandola & Rossella Mossucca, 2021. "When did the stock market start to react less to downgrades by Moody’s, S&P and Fitch?," SN Business & Economics, Springer, vol. 1(2), pages 1-45, February.
    12. Kiesel, Florian & Kolaric, Sascha & Schiereck, Dirk, 2016. "Market integration and efficiency of CDS and equity markets," The Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 61(C), pages 209-229.
    13. Andres, Christian & Betzer, André & Doumet, Markus, 2021. "Measuring changes in credit risk: The case of CDS event studies," Global Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 49(C).
    14. Paula Hill & Robert Faff, 2010. "The Market Impact of Relative Agency Activity in the Sovereign Ratings Market," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 37(9‐10), pages 1309-1347, November.
    15. Finnerty, John D. & Miller, Cameron D. & Chen, Ren-Raw, 2013. "The impact of credit rating announcements on credit default swap spreads," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 37(6), pages 2011-2030.
    16. Brogaard, Jonathan & Koski, Jennifer L. & Siegel, Andrew F., 2019. "Do upgrades matter? Evidence from trading volume," Journal of Financial Markets, Elsevier, vol. 43(C), pages 54-77.
    17. Abdelkader Boudriga & Dorsaf Azouz Ghachem, 2016. "Does US stock market react differently to rating announcements during crisis period? The case of the 2008 worldwide financial crisis," American Journal of Finance and Accounting, Inderscience Enterprises Ltd, vol. 4(3/4), pages 193-214.
    18. Dorsaf Azouz Ghachem & Abdelkader Boudriga & Chokri Mamoghli, 2011. "Does The American Stock Market React Differently to Rating Announcements During A Crisis Period? The Case of the 2008 Worldwide Financial Crisis," Working Papers 601, Economic Research Forum, revised 07 Jan 2011.
    19. Bannier, Christina E. & Hirsch, Christian W., 2010. "The economic function of credit rating agencies - What does the watchlist tell us?," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 34(12), pages 3037-3049, December.
    20. Barakat, Ahmed & Ashby, Simon & Fenn, Paul, 2018. "The reputational effects of analysts' stock recommendations and credit ratings: Evidence from operational risk announcements in the financial industry," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 55(C), pages 1-22.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    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:dar:wpaper:77927. 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: Dekanatssekretariat (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/ivthdde.html .

    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.