IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/gla/glaewp/2020_25.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Gender board diversity and the cost of bank loans

Author

Listed:
  • Panagiotis Karavitis
  • Sotirios Kokas
  • Serafeim Tsoukas

Abstract

We examine the relationship between female board representation and the cost of lending, using a dataset of 13,714 loans from 386 banks matched with 2,432 non-financial firms from 1999 to 2013. We find that firms with female directors command lower loan spreads. In addition, female independent directors have a stronger impact on lowering spreads compared to female directors' other attributes. However, as firms build relationships with their lenders this effect becomes less potent. Finally, when we introduce firm-level heterogeneity we document that changes in gender diversity exert a stronger impact on the cost of lending in the case of bank-dependent firms, especially for relationship borrowers.

Suggested Citation

  • Panagiotis Karavitis & Sotirios Kokas & Serafeim Tsoukas, 2020. "Gender board diversity and the cost of bank loans," Working Papers 2020_25, Business School - Economics, University of Glasgow.
  • Handle: RePEc:gla:glaewp:2020_25
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.gla.ac.uk/media/Media_764954_smxx.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Roberts, Michael R., 2015. "The role of dynamic renegotiation and asymmetric information in financial contracting," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 116(1), pages 61-81.
    2. David A. Matsa & Amalia R. Miller, 2013. "A Female Style in Corporate Leadership? Evidence from Quotas," American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, American Economic Association, vol. 5(3), pages 136-169, July.
    3. Güntay, Levent & Hackbarth, Dirk, 2010. "Corporate bond credit spreads and forecast dispersion," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 34(10), pages 2328-2345, October.
    4. Ben S. Bernanke & Mark Gertler, 1995. "Inside the Black Box: The Credit Channel of Monetary Policy Transmission," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 9(4), pages 27-48, Fall.
    5. Lim, Jongha & Minton, Bernadette A. & Weisbach, Michael S., 2014. "Syndicated loan spreads and the composition of the syndicate," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 111(1), pages 45-69.
    6. Bennouri, Moez & Chtioui, Tawhid & Nagati, Haithem & Nekhili, Mehdi, 2018. "Female board directorship and firm performance: What really matters?," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 88(C), pages 267-291.
    7. Denis, David J, 1990. "Defensive Changes in Corporate Payout Policy: Share Repurchases and Special Dividends," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 45(5), pages 1433-1456, December.
    8. Hermalin, Benjamin E & Weisbach, Michael S, 1998. "Endogenously Chosen Boards of Directors and Their Monitoring of the CEO," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 88(1), pages 96-118, March.
    9. Douglas W. Diamond, 1984. "Financial Intermediation and Delegated Monitoring," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 51(3), pages 393-414.
    10. Kashyap, Anil K & Stein, Jeremy C & Wilcox, David W, 1993. "Monetary Policy and Credit Conditions: Evidence from the Composition of External Finance," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 83(1), pages 78-98, March.
    11. Gul, Ferdinand A. & Srinidhi, Bin & Ng, Anthony C., 2011. "Does board gender diversity improve the informativeness of stock prices?," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 51(3), pages 314-338, April.
    12. Sudheer Chava & Michael R. Roberts, 2008. "How Does Financing Impact Investment? The Role of Debt Covenants," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 63(5), pages 2085-2121, October.
    13. Gabriel Jiménez & Steven Ongena & José‐Luis Peydró & Jesús Saurina, 2014. "Hazardous Times for Monetary Policy: What Do Twenty‐Three Million Bank Loans Say About the Effects of Monetary Policy on Credit Risk‐Taking?," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 82(2), pages 463-505, March.
    14. Anderson, Ronald C. & Mansi, Sattar A. & Reeb, David M., 2004. "Board characteristics, accounting report integrity, and the cost of debt," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 37(3), pages 315-342, September.
    15. Adams, Renée B. & Ferreira, Daniel, 2009. "Women in the boardroom and their impact on governance and performance," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 94(2), pages 291-309, November.
    16. Pérez-Martín, A. & Pérez-Torregrosa, A. & Vaca, M., 2018. "Big Data techniques to measure credit banking risk in home equity loans," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 89(C), pages 448-454.
    17. Tobias Berg & Anthony Saunders & Sascha Steffen, 2016. "The Total Cost of Corporate Borrowing in the Loan Market: Don't Ignore the Fees," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 71(3), pages 1357-1392, June.
    18. Steven M. Fazzari & R. Glenn Hubbard & Bruce C. Petersen, 1988. "Financing Constraints and Corporate Investment," Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, Economic Studies Program, The Brookings Institution, vol. 19(1), pages 141-206.
    19. Bougheas, Spiros & Mizen, Paul & Yalcin, Cihan, 2006. "Access to external finance: Theory and evidence on the impact of monetary policy and firm-specific characteristics," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 30(1), pages 199-227, January.
    20. Ivashina, Victoria & Scharfstein, David, 2010. "Bank lending during the financial crisis of 2008," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 97(3), pages 319-338, September.
    21. Paige Fields, L. & Fraser, Donald R. & Subrahmanyam, Avanidhar, 2012. "Board quality and the cost of debt capital: The case of bank loans," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 36(5), pages 1536-1547.
    22. Almeida, Heitor & Campello, Murillo, 2010. "Financing Frictions and the Substitution between Internal and External Funds," Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 45(3), pages 589-622, June.
    23. Angbazo, Lazarus A. & Mei, Jianping & Saunders, Anthony, 1998. "Credit spreads in the market for highly leveraged transaction loans," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 22(10-11), pages 1249-1282, October.
    24. Benjamin E. Hermalin & Michael S. Weisbach, 2003. "Boards of directors as an endogenously determined institution: a survey of the economic literature," Economic Policy Review, Federal Reserve Bank of New York, vol. 9(Apr), pages 7-26.
    25. Victoria Ivashina & Anna Kovner, 2011. "The Private Equity Advantage: Leveraged Buyout Firms and Relationship Banking," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 24(7), pages 2462-2498.
    26. Manthos D. Delis & Sotirios Kokas & Steven Ongena, 2017. "Bank Market Power and Firm Performance," Review of Finance, European Finance Association, vol. 21(1), pages 299-326.
    27. David A. Carter & Betty J. Simkins & W. Gary Simpson, 2003. "Corporate Governance, Board Diversity, and Firm Value," The Financial Review, Eastern Finance Association, vol. 38(1), pages 33-53, February.
    28. Cesare Fracassi & Geoffrey Tate, 2012. "External Networking and Internal Firm Governance," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 67(1), pages 153-194, February.
    29. Christophe Boone & Walter Hendriks, 2009. "Top Management Team Diversity and Firm Performance: Moderators of Functional-Background and Locus-of-Control Diversity," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 55(2), pages 165-180, February.
    30. Greenbaum, Stuart I. & Kanatas, George & Venezia, Itzhak, 1989. "Equilibrium loan pricing under the bank-client relationship," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 13(2), pages 221-235, May.
    31. Justin Murfin, 2012. "The Supply-Side Determinants of Loan Contract Strictness," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 67(5), pages 1565-1601, October.
    32. Gilchrist, Simon & Yankov, Vladimir & Zakrajsek, Egon, 2009. "Credit market shocks and economic fluctuations: Evidence from corporate bond and stock markets," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 56(4), pages 471-493, May.
    33. Mark Carey & Greg Nini, 2007. "Is the Corporate Loan Market Globally Integrated? A Pricing Puzzle," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 62(6), pages 2969-3007, December.
    34. Amir Sufi, 2007. "Information Asymmetry and Financing Arrangements: Evidence from Syndicated Loans," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 62(2), pages 629-668, April.
    35. repec:hal:journl:hal-02312104 is not listed on IDEAS
    36. Toni M. Whited & Guojun Wu, 2006. "Financial Constraints Risk," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 19(2), pages 531-559.
    37. Minnick, Kristina & Noga, Tracy, 2010. "Do corporate governance characteristics influence tax management?," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 16(5), pages 703-718, December.
    38. Sreedhar T. Bharath & Sandeep Dahiya & Anthony Saunders & Anand Srinivasan, 2009. "Lending Relationships and Loan Contract Terms," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 24(4), pages 1141-1203.
    39. Hale, Galina & Santos, João A.C., 2008. "The decision to first enter the public bond market: The role of firm reputation, funding choices, and bank relationships," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 32(9), pages 1928-1940, September.
    40. Conyon, Martin J. & He, Lerong, 2017. "Firm performance and boardroom gender diversity: A quantile regression approach," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 79(C), pages 198-211.
    41. Brad M. Barber & Terrance Odean, 2001. "Boys will be Boys: Gender, Overconfidence, and Common Stock Investment," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 116(1), pages 261-292.
    42. Bøhren, Øyvind & Staubo, Siv, 2014. "Does mandatory gender balance work? Changing organizational form to avoid board upheaval," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 28(C), pages 152-168.
    43. Sila, Vathunyoo & Gonzalez, Angelica & Hagendorff, Jens, 2016. "Women on board: Does boardroom gender diversity affect firm risk?," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 36(C), pages 26-53.
    44. Liu, Yu & Wei, Zuobao & Xie, Feixue, 2014. "Do women directors improve firm performance in China?," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 28(C), pages 169-184.
    45. Allen, Franklin, 1990. "The market for information and the origin of financial intermediation," Journal of Financial Intermediation, Elsevier, vol. 1(1), pages 3-30, March.
    46. Klein, April, 2002. "Audit committee, board of director characteristics, and earnings management," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 33(3), pages 375-400, August.
    47. Kenneth R. Ahern & Amy K. Dittmar, 2012. "The Changing of the Boards: The Impact on Firm Valuation of Mandated Female Board Representation," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 127(1), pages 137-197.
    48. João A. C. Santos, 2011. "Bank Corporate Loan Pricing Following the Subprime Crisis," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 24(6), pages 1916-1943.
    49. Michael Bradley & Michael R. Roberts, 2015. "The Structure and Pricing of Corporate Debt Covenants," Quarterly Journal of Finance (QJF), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 5(02), pages 1-37.
    50. Sanjeev Bhojraj & Partha Sengupta, 2003. "Effect of Corporate Governance on Bond Ratings and Yields: The Role of Institutional Investors and Outside Directors," The Journal of Business, University of Chicago Press, vol. 76(3), pages 455-476, July.
    51. Stephen Bear & Noushi Rahman & Corinne Post, 2010. "The Impact of Board Diversity and Gender Composition on Corporate Social Responsibility and Firm Reputation," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 97(2), pages 207-221, December.
    52. Murillo Campello & Long Chen, 2010. "Are Financial Constraints Priced? Evidence from Firm Fundamentals and Stock Returns," Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 42(6), pages 1185-1198, September.
    53. Takanori Tanaka, 2014. "Gender diversity in the boards and the pricing of publicly traded corporate debt: evidence from Japan," Applied Financial Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 24(4), pages 247-258, February.
    54. Muhammad Usman & Muhammad Umar Farooq & Junrui Zhang & Muhammad Abdul Majid Makki & Muhammad Kaleem Khan, 2019. "Female directors and the cost of debt: does gender diversity in the boardroom matter to lenders?," Managerial Auditing Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 34(4), pages 374-392, April.
    55. Boot, Arnoud W A & Thakor, Anjan V, 1994. "Moral Hazard and Secured Lending in an Infinitely Repeated Credit Market Game," International Economic Review, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania and Osaka University Institute of Social and Economic Research Association, vol. 35(4), pages 899-920, November.
    56. João A. C. Santos & Andrew Winton, 2008. "Bank Loans, Bonds, and Information Monopolies across the Business Cycle," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 63(3), pages 1315-1359, June.
    57. Murillo Campello & Long Chen, 2010. "Are Financial Constraints Priced? Evidence from Firm Fundamentals and Stock Returns," Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 42(6), pages 1185-1198, September.
    58. Boot, Arnoud W. A., 2000. "Relationship Banking: What Do We Know?," Journal of Financial Intermediation, Elsevier, vol. 9(1), pages 7-25, January.
    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. Girardone, Claudia & Kokas, Sotirios & Wood, Geoffrey, 2021. "Diversity and women in finance: Challenges and future perspectives," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 71(C).
    2. Alharbi, Rana & Elnahass, Marwa & McLaren, Josie, 2022. "Women directors and market valuation: What are the “Wonder Woman” attributes in banking?," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 80(C).
    3. Danisman, Gamze Ozturk & Tarazi, Amine, 2024. "ESG activity and bank lending during financial crises," Journal of Financial Stability, Elsevier, vol. 70(C).
    4. Mollah, Sabur & Liljeblom, Eva & Mobarek, Asma, 2021. "Heterogeneity in independent non-executive directors' attributes and risk-taking in large banks," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 70(C).
    5. Mariasole Bannò & Giorgia Maria D’Allura & Graziano Coller & Celeste Varum, 2023. "Men are from Mars, women are from Venus: on lenders’ stereotypical views and the implications for a firm’s debt," Journal of Management & Governance, Springer;Accademia Italiana di Economia Aziendale (AIDEA), vol. 27(2), pages 651-687, June.
    6. Ebaya, Ahmad & Qin, Xuezhi & Elsayed, Mohamed, 2024. "Female board members, financial constraints, and internal control quality: New insights following COSO's 2013 framework," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 234(C).
    7. Huang, Yichu & Fang, Feifei & Fan, Yaoyao & Ly, Kim Cuong, 2024. "Do ‘Lehman Sisters’ work in China? Women on boards and bank risk," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 93(C).
    8. repec:zbw:bofitp:2022_011 is not listed on IDEAS
    9. Karavitis, Panagiotis & Kazakis, Pantelis, 2022. "Political sentiment and syndicated loan borrowing costs of multinational enterprises," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 78(C).
    10. Davydov, Denis & Garanina, Tatiana & Weill, Laurent, 2022. "Managing bank liquidity hoarding during uncertain times : The role of board gender diversity," BOFIT Discussion Papers 11/2022, Bank of Finland, Institute for Economies in Transition.
    11. Davydov, Denis & Garanina, Tatiana & Weill, Laurent, 2022. "Managing bank liquidity hoarding during uncertain times: The role of board gender diversity," BOFIT Discussion Papers 11/2022, Bank of Finland Institute for Emerging Economies (BOFIT).
    12. Kara, Alper & Nanteza, Aziidah & Ozkan, Aydin & Yildiz, Yilmaz, 2022. "Board gender diversity and responsible banking during the COVID-19 pandemic," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 74(C).
    13. Salvador Cruz Rambaud & Joaquín López Pascual & Roberto Moro-Visconti & Emilio M. Santandreu, 2022. "Should gender be a determinant factor for granting crowdfunded microloans?," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 9(1), pages 1-13, December.

    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. Maria Giuseppina Bruna & Rey Dang & Marie-José Scotto & Aymen Ammari, 2019. "Does board gender diversity affect firm risk-taking? Evidence from the French stock market," Journal of Management & Governance, Springer;Accademia Italiana di Economia Aziendale (AIDEA), vol. 23(4), pages 915-938, December.
    2. Sanjukta Brahma & Chioma Nwafor & Agyenim Boateng, 2021. "Board gender diversity and firm performance: The UK evidence," International Journal of Finance & Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 26(4), pages 5704-5719, October.
    3. McGuinness, Paul B., 2021. "Board member age, stock seasoning and the evolution of capital structure in Chinese firms," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 30(3).
    4. Karavitis, Panagiotis & Kazakis, Pantelis, 2022. "Political sentiment and syndicated loan borrowing costs of multinational enterprises," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 78(C).
    5. Xu Chong Bo & Wenyi Li & Jing Shi & Yi Zheng & Qing Zhou, 2021. "Relationship lending and bank loan covenant violations," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 61(4), pages 5847-5878, December.
    6. Gong, Di & Xu, Jiajun & Yan, Jianye, 2023. "National development banks and loan contract terms: Evidence from syndicated loans," Journal of International Money and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 130(C).
    7. Arnaboldi, F. & Casu, B. & Gallo, A. & Kalotychou, E. & Sarkisyan, A., 2021. "Gender diversity and bank misconduct," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 71(C).
    8. Young Zik Shin & Jeung-Yoon Chang & Kyeongmin Jeon & Hyunpyo Kim, 2020. "Female directors on the board and investment efficiency: evidence from Korea," Asian Business & Management, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 19(4), pages 438-479, September.
    9. Girardone, Claudia & Kokas, Sotirios & Wood, Geoffrey, 2021. "Diversity and women in finance: Challenges and future perspectives," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 71(C).
    10. Chen, Jiayuan & Gong, Di & Muckley, Cal, 2020. "Stock market illiquidity, bargaining power and the cost of borrowing," Journal of Empirical Finance, Elsevier, vol. 58(C), pages 181-206.
    11. Intan Suryani Abu Bakar & Arifur Khan & Paul Mather & George Tanewski, 2020. "Board monitoring and covenant restrictiveness in private debt contracts during the global financial crisis," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 60(S1), pages 661-692, April.
    12. Botsch, Matthew & Vanasco, Victoria, 2019. "Learning by lending," Journal of Financial Intermediation, Elsevier, vol. 37(C), pages 1-14.
    13. Álvarez-Botas, Celia & González, Víctor M., 2023. "The value of relationship banking: International evidence," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 64(C).
    14. Luong, Hoa & Khedmati, Mehdi & Nguyen, Lan Anh & Nigmonov, Asror & Ovi, Nafisa Zabeen & Shams, Syed, 2023. "CEO-director ties and board gender diversity: US evidence," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Finance, Elsevier, vol. 40(C).
    15. Armstrong, Christopher S. & Guay, Wayne R. & Weber, Joseph P., 2010. "The role of information and financial reporting in corporate governance and debt contracting," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 50(2-3), pages 179-234, December.
    16. Degl'Innocenti, Marta & Fiordelisi, Franco & Song, Wei & Zhou, Si, 2023. "Shareholder litigation and bank risk," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 146(C).
    17. Fan, Yaoyao & Jiang, Yuxiang & Zhang, Xuezhi & Zhou, Yue, 2019. "Women on boards and bank earnings management: From zero to hero," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 107(C), pages 1-1.
    18. Chia-Ying Chan & Iftekhar Hasan & Chih-Yung Lin, 2021. "Agency cost of CEO perquisites in bank loan contracts," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 56(4), pages 1221-1258, May.
    19. Mizen, Paul & Tsoukas, Serafeim, 2012. "The response of the external finance premium in Asian corporate bond markets to financial characteristics, financial constraints and two financial crises," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 36(11), pages 3048-3059.
    20. García Lara, Juan Manuel & García Osma, Beatriz & Mora, Araceli & Scapin, Mariano, 2017. "The monitoring role of female directors over accounting quality," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 45(C), pages 651-668.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Gender diversity; Board of directors; Bank loans; Relationship lending;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • G21 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - Banks; Other Depository Institutions; Micro Finance Institutions; Mortgages
    • G30 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - General

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    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:gla:glaewp:2020_25. 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: Business School Research Team (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/dpglauk.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.