IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/red/sed018/1004.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

A Model of Endogenous Debt Maturity with Heterogeneous Beliefs

Author

Listed:
  • Matthew Darst

    (Board of Governors of the Federal Reserv)

  • Ehraz Refayet

    (Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, U.S. Treasury)

Abstract

This paper studies optimal debt maturity when firms issue non-contingent claims and investors disagree about repayment probabilities. The optimal debt maturity choice is a mix of long- and short-term debt securities. Multiple maturity issuances allow firms to best leverage scarce collateral by intertemporally catering risky promises to investors most willing to hold risk. Heterogeneous investors directly contrasts theories of debt predicated on agency costs and liquidity risk and provide a novel explanation for why large and mature companies typically issue debt with multiple maturities. Lastly, we show that non-financial covenants aimed at preventing debt dilution do not affect real outcomes because they simply reallocate collateral from short-term to long-term debt holders.

Suggested Citation

  • Matthew Darst & Ehraz Refayet, 2018. "A Model of Endogenous Debt Maturity with Heterogeneous Beliefs," 2018 Meeting Papers 1004, Society for Economic Dynamics.
    • Handle: RePEc:red:sed018:1004
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://red-files-public.s3.amazonaws.com/meetpapers/2018/paper_1004.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Hui Chen & Yu Xu & Jun Yang, 2012. "Systematic Risk, Debt Maturity, and the Term Structure of Credit Spreads," NBER Working Papers 18367, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    2. Douglas W. Diamond & Zhiguo He, 2014. "A Theory of Debt Maturity: The Long and Short of Debt Overhang," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 69(2), pages 719-762, April.
    3. Fostel, Ana & Geanakoplos, John, 2012. "Why does bad news increase volatility and decrease leverage?," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 147(2), pages 501-525.
    4. Norden, Lars & Roosenboom, Peter & Wang, Teng, 2016. "The effects of corporate bond granularity," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 63(C), pages 25-34.
    5. Flannery, Mark J, 1986. "Asymmetric Information and Risky Debt Maturity Choice," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 41(1), pages 19-37, March.
    6. Leland, Hayne E, 1994. "Corporate Debt Value, Bond Covenants, and Optimal Capital Structure," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 49(4), pages 1213-1252, September.
    7. Merton, Robert C, 1974. "On the Pricing of Corporate Debt: The Risk Structure of Interest Rates," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 29(2), pages 449-470, May.
    8. repec:bla:jfinan:v:53:y:1998:i:4:p:1213-1243 is not listed on IDEAS
    9. Graham, John R. & Harvey, Campbell R., 2001. "The theory and practice of corporate finance: evidence from the field," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 60(2-3), pages 187-243, May.
    10. Ana Fostel & John Geanakoplos, 2010. "Why does Bad News Increase Volatility and Decrease Leverage?," Working Papers 2010-18, The George Washington University, Institute for International Economic Policy.
    11. Choi, Jaewon & Hackbarth, Dirk & Zechner, Josef, 2018. "Corporate debt maturity profiles," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 130(3), pages 484-502.
    12. Hart, Oliver & Moore, John, 1995. "Debt and Seniority: An Analysis of the Role of Hard Claims in Constraining Management," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 85(3), pages 567-585, June.
    13. Matthew T. Billett & Tao‐Hsien Dolly King & David C. Mauer, 2007. "Growth Opportunities and the Choice of Leverage, Debt Maturity, and Covenants," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 62(2), pages 697-730, April.
    14. John Geanakoplos & Ana Fostel, 2008. "Leverage Cycles and the Anxious Economy," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 98(4), pages 1211-1244, September.
    15. Shane A. Johnson, 2003. "Debt Maturity and the Effects of Growth Opportunities and Liquidity Risk on Leverage," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 16(1), pages 209-236.
    16. Nishant Dass & Massimo Massa, 2014. "The Variety of Maturities Offered by Firms and Institutional Investment in Corporate Bonds," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 27(7), pages 2219-2266.
    17. Matthias Kahl & Anil Shivdasani & Yihui Wang, 2015. "Short-Term Debt as Bridge Financing: Evidence from the Commercial Paper Market," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 70(1), pages 211-255, February.
    18. Hayne E. Leland., 1998. "Agency Costs, Risk Management, and Capital Structure," Research Program in Finance Working Papers RPF-278, University of California at Berkeley.
    19. Ms. Ana L Fostel & Mr. John Geanakoplos, 2010. "Why Does Bad News Increase Volatility and Decrease Leverage?," IMF Working Papers 2010/206, International Monetary Fund.
    20. Matt Darst & Ehraz Refayet, 2016. "Credit Default Swaps in General Equilibrium: Spillovers, Credit Spreads, and Endogenous Default," Finance and Economics Discussion Series 2016-042, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (U.S.).
    21. Douglas Gale & Martin Hellwig, 1985. "Incentive-Compatible Debt Contracts: The One-Period Problem," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 52(4), pages 647-663.
    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. Şebnem Kalemli-Özcan & Luc Laeven & David Moreno, 2022. "Debt Overhang, Rollover Risk, and Corporate Investment: Evidence from the European Crisis," Journal of the European Economic Association, European Economic Association, vol. 20(6), pages 2353-2395.
    2. Caglio, Cecilia & Darst, R. Matthew & Parolin, Eric, 2019. "Half-full or half-empty? Financial institutions, CDS use, and corporate credit risk," Journal of Financial Intermediation, Elsevier, vol. 40(C).

    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. Huang, Chong & Oehmke, Martin & Zhong, Hongda, 2019. "A theory of multiperiod debt structure," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 90429, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    2. Zhiguo He & Konstantin Milbradt, 2016. "Dynamic Debt Maturity," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 29(10), pages 2677-2736.
    3. Chen, Hui & Xu, Yu & Yang, Jun, 2021. "Systematic risk, debt maturity, and the term structure of credit spreads," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 139(3), pages 770-799.
    4. repec:ptu:bdpart:e201807 is not listed on IDEAS
    5. Douglas W. Diamond & Zhiguo He, 2014. "A Theory of Debt Maturity: The Long and Short of Debt Overhang," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 69(2), pages 719-762, April.
    6. Fu, Xudong & Huang, Minjie & Tang, Tian, 2022. "Duration of executive compensation and maturity structure of corporate debt," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 73(C).
    7. Choi, Jaewon & Hackbarth, Dirk & Zechner, Josef, 2018. "Corporate debt maturity profiles," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 130(3), pages 484-502.
    8. repec:ptu:bdpart:r201807 is not listed on IDEAS
    9. Dung T. T. Tran & Hieu V. Phan, 2022. "Government economic policy uncertainty and corporate debt contracting," International Review of Finance, International Review of Finance Ltd., vol. 22(1), pages 169-199, March.
    10. Kashefi Pour, Eilnaz & Lasfer, Meziane, 2019. "Taxes, governance, and debt maturity structure: International evidence," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 58(C), pages 136-161.
    11. Choi, Jaewon & Hackbarth, Dirk & Zechner, Josef, 2021. "Granularity of Corporate Debt," Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 56(4), pages 1127-1162, June.
    12. Zhiguo He & Wei Xiong, 2012. "Rollover Risk and Credit Risk," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 67(2), pages 391-430, April.
    13. Benzoni, Luca & Garlappi, Lorenzo & Goldstein, Robert S. & Ying, Chao, 2022. "Debt dynamics with fixed issuance costs," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 146(2), pages 385-402.
    14. Milbradt, Konstantin & Oehmke, Martin, 2015. "Maturity rationing and collective short-termism," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 118(3), pages 553-570.
    15. Liu, Liang-Chih & Dai, Tian-Shyr & Wang, Chuan-Ju, 2016. "Evaluating corporate bonds and analyzing claim holders’ decisions with complex debt structure," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 72(C), pages 151-174.
    16. Martin Oehmke & Hongda Zhong & Chong Huang, 2017. "A Theory of Multi-Period Debt Structure," 2017 Meeting Papers 1645, Society for Economic Dynamics.
    17. Ramona Westermann, 2018. "Measuring Agency Costs over the Business Cycle," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 64(12), pages 5748-5768, December.
    18. Ivan E. Brick & Rose C. Liao, 2017. "The joint determinants of cash holdings and debt maturity: the case for financial constraints," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 48(3), pages 597-641, April.
    19. Milbradt, Konstantin & Oehmke, Martin, 2015. "Maturity rationing and collective short-termism," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 84513, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    20. Joana F. Pimentel & Sujiao Zhao, 2018. "The Maturity Rat Race and Short-Termism," Economic Bulletin and Financial Stability Report Articles and Banco de Portugal Economic Studies, Banco de Portugal, Economics and Research Department.
    21. Thomas Dangl & Josef Zechner, 2021. "Debt Maturity and the Dynamics of Leverage [Rollover risk and market freezes]," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 34(12), pages 5796-5840.
    22. Bontempi, Maria Elena & Bottazzi, Laura & Golinelli, Roberto, 2020. "A multilevel index of heterogeneous short-term and long-term debt dynamics," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 64(C).

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • D92 - Microeconomics - - Micro-Based Behavioral Economics - - - Intertemporal Firm Choice, Investment, Capacity, and Financing
    • E22 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Consumption, Saving, Production, Employment, and Investment - - - Investment; Capital; Intangible Capital; Capacity
    • G11 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - Portfolio Choice; Investment Decisions
    • G12 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - Asset Pricing; Trading Volume; Bond Interest Rates
    • G31 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Capital Budgeting; Fixed Investment and Inventory Studies
    • G32 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Financing Policy; Financial Risk and Risk Management; Capital and Ownership Structure; Value of Firms; Goodwill

    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:red:sed018:1004. 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: Christian Zimmermann (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/sedddea.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.