IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/zbw/eifwps/201008.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Impact of Legislation on Credit Risk. How different are the UK and Germany?

Author

Listed:
  • Schmieder, Christian
  • Schmieder, Philipp
  • Kraemer-Eis, Helmut

Abstract

The analysis of credit risk and its impacting factors are important topics for the European Investment Fund (EIF, the Fund) as the Fund provides guarantees to financial institutions for portfolios of loans and leases to micro- and small and medium sized-enterprises (SMEs). In this context, the study also contributes to the current debate on the ongoing reform of legislation in Europe as part of the Lisbon strategy. This study investigates the link between legislation and credit risk of corporate bank debt based on a cross-country study for the United Kingdom (U.K.) and Germany.1 To this end, implied credit risk parameters (Probabilities of Default (PDs) and Loss Given Default (LGD)) reflecting the expected differences resulting from variations in legal systems are determined. These parameters are compared with empirical evidence to calculate the "net" impact of legislation, extending existing studies which found that there is an impact. We find that differences in legislation do not result in material differences in default rates, while U.K. banks would recover approximately 14 percentage points of the exposure more than German banks. The difference in LGDs resulting from legislation is mainly driven by shorter proceedings in the U.K., and, to a lesser degree, by a higher portion of out-of-court default events and slightly lower legal costs. However, German banks adjust their behaviour by demanding more credit risk mitigants than U.K. banks do and thereby finally recover only 4 percentage points less.

Suggested Citation

  • Schmieder, Christian & Schmieder, Philipp & Kraemer-Eis, Helmut, 2010. "Impact of Legislation on Credit Risk. How different are the UK and Germany?," EIF Working Paper Series 2010/08, European Investment Fund (EIF).
  • Handle: RePEc:zbw:eifwps:201008
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.econstor.eu/bitstream/10419/176638/1/eif-wp-08.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. repec:ces:ifodic:v:4:y:2006:i:1:p:14567419 is not listed on IDEAS
    2. Oliver Hart & John Moore, 1998. "Default and Renegotiation: A Dynamic Model of Debt," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 113(1), pages 1-41.
    3. R. H. Coase, 2013. "The Problem of Social Cost," Journal of Law and Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 56(4), pages 837-877.
    4. Edward I. Altman, 1968. "The Prediction Of Corporate Bankruptcy: A Discriminant Analysis," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 23(1), pages 193-194, March.
    5. Berger, Allen N & Hannan, Timothy H, 1989. "The Price-Concentration Relationship in Banking," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 71(2), pages 291-299, May.
    6. Rafael La Porta & Florencio Lopez-de-Silanes & Andrei Shleifer & Robert W. Vishny, 1998. "Law and Finance," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 106(6), pages 1113-1155, December.
    7. Oliver Hart & John Moore, 1994. "A Theory of Debt Based on the Inalienability of Human Capital," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 109(4), pages 841-879.
    8. Jun Qian & Philip E. Strahan, 2007. "How Laws and Institutions Shape Financial Contracts: The Case of Bank Loans," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 62(6), pages 2803-2834, December.
    9. Stijn Claessens & Leora F. Klapper, 2005. "Bankruptcy around the World: Explanations of Its Relative Use," American Law and Economics Review, American Law and Economics Association, vol. 7(1), pages 253-283.
    10. Franks, Julian & Sussman, Oren, 2003. "Financial Distress and Bank Restructuring of Small to Medium Size UK Companies," CEPR Discussion Papers 3915, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    11. Djankov, Simeon & McLiesh, Caralee & Shleifer, Andrei, 2007. "Private credit in 129 countries," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 84(2), pages 299-329, May.
    12. Ali, Paul, 2002. "The Law of Secured Finance: An International Survey of Security Interests over Personal Property," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780198299028.
    13. Arturo Bris & Ivo Welch & Ning Zhu, 2006. "The Costs of Bankruptcy: Chapter 7 Liquidation versus Chapter 11 Reorganization," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 61(3), pages 1253-1303, June.
    14. Rigmar Osterkamp, 2006. "Insolvency in selected OECD countries: Outcomes and regulations," ifo DICE Report, ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich, vol. 4(1), pages 27-33, 04.
    15. Philippe Aghion & Patrick Bolton, 1992. "An Incomplete Contracts Approach to Financial Contracting," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 59(3), pages 473-494.
    16. 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.
    17. Sergei A. Davydenko & Julian R. Franks, 2008. "Do Bankruptcy Codes Matter? A Study of Defaults in France, Germany, and the U.K," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 63(2), pages 565-608, April.
    18. Honohan,Patrick & Laeven,Luc (ed.), 2005. "Systemic Financial Crises," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9780521851855.
    19. Hannan, Timothy H., 1991. "Bank commercial loan markets and the role of market structure: evidence from surveys of commercial lending," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 15(1), pages 133-149, February.
    20. Edward I. Altman, 1968. "Financial Ratios, Discriminant Analysis And The Prediction Of Corporate Bankruptcy," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 23(4), pages 589-609, September.
    21. Rigmar Osterkamp, 2006. "Insolvency in selected OECD countries: Outcomes and regulations," ifo DICE Report, ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich, vol. 4(01), pages 27-33, April.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    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. Benito Arruñada, 2011. "Mandatory accounting disclosure by small private companies," European Journal of Law and Economics, Springer, vol. 32(3), pages 377-413, December.
    2. Giambona, Erasmo & Lopez-de-Silanes, Florencio & Matta, Rafael, 2022. "Stiffing the creditor: Asset verifiability and bankruptcy," Journal of Financial Intermediation, Elsevier, vol. 52(C).
    3. Cathcart, Lara & Dufour, Alfonso & Rossi, Ludovico & Varotto, Simone, 2020. "The differential impact of leverage on the default risk of small and large firms," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 60(C).
    4. Müller, Karsten, 2022. "Busy bankruptcy courts and the cost of credit," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 143(2), pages 824-845.
    5. Gopalakrishnan, Balagopal & Mohapatra, Sanket, 2020. "Insolvency regimes and firms' default risk under economic uncertainty and shocks," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 91(C), pages 180-197.
    6. Araujo, Aloisio P. & Ferreira, Rafael V.X. & Funchal, Bruno, 2012. "The Brazilian bankruptcy law experience," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 18(4), pages 994-1004.
    7. Fien van Solinge & Beau Soederhuizen, 2023. "European Insolvency Law and Firm Leverage," CPB Discussion Paper 448, CPB Netherlands Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis.
    8. Simeon Djankov & Oliver Hart & Caralee McLiesh & Andrei Shleifer, 2008. "Debt Enforcement around the World," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 116(6), pages 1105-1149, December.
    9. Rainer Haselmann & Paul Wachtel, 2010. "Institutions and Bank Behavior: Legal Environment, Legal Perception, and the Composition of Bank Lending," Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 42(5), pages 965-984, August.
    10. Hakenes, Hendrik & Boyd, John H. & Heitz, Amanda Rae, 2016. "The Effects of Creditor Rights and Bank Information Sharing on Borrower Behavior: Theory and Evidence," CEPR Discussion Papers 11699, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    11. Juliano J. Assunção & Efraim Benmelech & Fernando S. S. Silva, 2014. "Repossession and the Democratization of Credit," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 27(9), pages 2661-2689.
    12. Boyd, John & Hakenes, Hendrik & Heitz, Amanda, 2018. "The Effects of Creditor Rights and Bank Information Sharing on Borrower Behavior: Theory and Evidence," VfS Annual Conference 2018 (Freiburg, Breisgau): Digital Economy 181565, Verein für Socialpolitik / German Economic Association.
    13. Nicolae Stef, 2023. "Bankruptcy voting process and corporate reorganization," Bulletin of Economic Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 75(2), pages 508-524, April.
    14. Nadarajah, Sivathaasan & Duong, Huu Nhan & Ali, Searat & Liu, Benjamin & Huang, Allen, 2021. "Stock liquidity and default risk around the world," Journal of Financial Markets, Elsevier, vol. 55(C).
    15. Filipe, Sara Ferreira & Grammatikos, Theoharry & Michala, Dimitra, 2016. "Forecasting distress in European SME portfolios," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 64(C), pages 112-135.
    16. Bernardus Ferdinandus Nazar Van Doornik & Lucio Rodrigues Capelletto, 2015. "Collateral after the Brazilian Creditor Rights Reform," Working Papers Series 404, Central Bank of Brazil, Research Department.
    17. Franklin Allen & Xian Gu & Oskar Kowalewski, 2017. "Financial structure, economic growth and development," Post-Print hal-01917114, HAL.
    18. Chen, Jie & De Cesari, Amedeo & Hill, Paula & Ozkan, Neslihan, 2018. "Initial compensation contracts for new executives and financial distress risk: An empirical investigation of UK firms," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 48(C), pages 292-313.
    19. González, Francisco, 2020. "Creditor rights, financial health, and corporate investment efficiency," The North American Journal of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 51(C).
    20. Christophe J. Godlewski, 2019. "Debt Renegotiation and the Design of Financial Contracts," Journal of Financial Services Research, Springer;Western Finance Association, vol. 55(2), pages 191-215, June.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Credit Legislation; Credit Risk; Recovery Rates;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • K22 - Law and Economics - - Regulation and Business Law - - - Business and Securities Law
    • G11 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - Portfolio Choice; Investment Decisions
    • G18 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - Government Policy and Regulation
    • G33 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Bankruptcy; Liquidation

    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:zbw:eifwps:201008. 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: ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/eifunlu.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.