The Macroeconomic Uncertainty Premium in the Corporate Bond Market

Author(s):  
Turan G. Bali ◽  
Avanidhar Subrahmanyam ◽  
Quan Wen

Abstract We examine the role of macroeconomic uncertainty in the cross section of corporate bonds and find a significant uncertainty premium for both investment-grade (IG) (0.40% per month) and non-investment-grade (NIG) (0.81% per month) bonds. The economic-uncertainty premium declines as we progressively remove downgraded bonds, indicating that the premium represents an increase in required returns for bonds with higher credit and macroeconomic risk. The economic-uncertainty premia vary across equities and bonds in a manner consistent with the heterogeneous risk-aversion levels of dominant players in equities (retail investors) versus bonds (institutional investors).

This article presents an improved equity momentum measure for corporate bonds, using the euro-denominated global investment-grade corporate bond market from 2000 to 2016. The author documents economically meaningful and statistically significant corporate bond return predictability. In contrast to the widely used total equity return, momentum as measured by the residual (idiosyncratic) equity return appears to further enhance risk-adjusted performance of corporate bond investors. Additional support for this conjecture is obtained from tests for various asset pricing factors and transaction costs, as exposure to these risk factors cannot explain this abnormal pattern in returns.


2013 ◽  
Vol 73 (3) ◽  
pp. 810-846 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher Coyle ◽  
John D. Turner

This article examines the role of creditor protection in the development of the U.K. corporate bond market. This market grew rapidly in the late nineteenth century, but in the twentieth century it experienced a reversal, albeit with a short-lived post-1945 renaissance. Such was the extent of the reversal that the market from the 1970s onwards was smaller than it had been in 1870. We find that law does not explain the variation in the size of this market over time. Alternatively, our evidence suggests that inflation and taxation policies were major drivers of this market in the post-1945 era.


2021 ◽  
Vol 20 (4) ◽  
pp. 5-37
Author(s):  
Attila Bécsi ◽  
Gergely Bognár ◽  
Máté Lóga

The role of corporate bonds has expanded globally in the past decade, as they are an ideal financial instrument both for diversifying the liability structure of issuing companies and managing investors’ portfolios. An adequately developed, liquid corporate bond market has a beneficial effect on the functioning and transparency of the market mechanisms of the economy and can also strengthen the crisis resilience of the financial system. Several studies have shown that – in addition to the normal functioning of companies – the issue of corporate financing is also important in crisis management, as uncertainty during a crisis has a negative impact on the liquidity of bank lending, limiting companies’ funding options. In such a situation, it is therefore vital that companies can also rely on other forms of financing. Recognising this in the aftermath of the 2008–2009 economic crisis, central banks in a number of countries launched bond purchase programmes in order to start supporting the expansion of the corporate bond market. Thanks to the Bond Funding for Growth Scheme (BFGS) of the Magyar Nemzeti Bank (the Central Bank of Hungary, MNB), the Hungarian corporate bond market now offers a realistic financing alternative to bank loans for a wide range of companies.


2017 ◽  
Vol 27 (3) ◽  
pp. 54-70 ◽  
Author(s):  
Florian Barth ◽  
Hendrik Scholz ◽  
Matthias Stegmeier

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