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The Resilience of the U.S. Corporate Bond Market During Financial Crises

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  • Bo Becker
  • Efraim Benmelech

Abstract

Corporate bond markets proved remarkably resilient against a sharp contraction caused by the 2020 Covid-19 pandemic. We document three important findings: (1) bond issuance increased immediately when the contraction hit, whereas, in contrast, syndicated loan issuance was low; (2) Federal Reserve interventions increased bond issuance, while loan issuance also increased, but to a lesser degree; and (3) bond issuance was concentrated in the investment-grade segment for large and profitable issuers. We compare these results to previous crises and recessions and document similar patterns. We conclude that the U.S. bond market is an important and resilient source of funding for corporations.

Suggested Citation

  • Bo Becker & Efraim Benmelech, 2021. "The Resilience of the U.S. Corporate Bond Market During Financial Crises," NBER Working Papers 28868, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    • Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:28868
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    Cited by:

    1. Darmouni, Olivier & Papoutsi, Melina, 2022. "Europe's growing league of small corporate bond issuers: new players, different game dynamics," Research Bulletin, European Central Bank, vol. 96.
    2. Fatica, Serena & Panzica, Roberto, 2021. "Sustainable investing in times of crisis: evidence from bond holdings and the COVID-19 pandemic," Working Papers 2021-07, Joint Research Centre, European Commission.
    3. Ghizlane Barzi & Bamousse Zineb, 2023. "Resilience at the heart of the financial function of companies: a lever for sustainability against the effects of crises in Morocco - Case of Covid-19 [La résilience au coeur de la fonction financi," Post-Print hal-04367540, HAL.
    4. Darmouni, Olivier & Papoutsi, Melina, 2022. "The rise of bond financing in Europe: five facts about new and small issuers," Working Paper Series 2663, European Central Bank.
    5. John J Shim & Karamfil Todorov, 2021. "ETFs, illiquid assets, and fire sales," BIS Working Papers 975, Bank for International Settlements.
    6. John M Griffin & Jordan Nickerson, 2023. "Are CLO Collateral and Tranche Ratings Disconnected?," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 36(6), pages 2319-2360.

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • E43 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Money and Interest Rates - - - Interest Rates: Determination, Term Structure, and Effects
    • E44 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Money and Interest Rates - - - Financial Markets and the Macroeconomy
    • E51 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Monetary Policy, Central Banking, and the Supply of Money and Credit - - - Money Supply; Credit; Money Multipliers
    • G01 - Financial Economics - - General - - - Financial Crises
    • G21 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - Banks; Other Depository Institutions; Micro Finance Institutions; Mortgages
    • G23 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - Non-bank Financial Institutions; Financial Instruments; Institutional Investors

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