The 2008–2009 global financial crisis and the cost of debt capital among SMEs: Swedish evidence

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Darush Yazdanfar ◽  
Peter Öhman

PurposeThe main purpose of this study is to describe and analyse the relationship between the 2008–2009 global financial crisis and small and medium-sized enterprises' cost of debt capital.Design/methodology/approachStatistical methods, including multiple OLS and dynamic panel data, were used to analyse a longitudinal cross-sectional panel dataset of 3865 Swedish SMEs operating in five industry sectors over the 2008–2015 period.FindingsThe results suggest that the cost of debt was influenced by the financial crisis and another macroeconomic factor, i.e. the interbank interest rate, and by firm-specific factors such as firm size and lagged cost of debt.Originality/valueTo the authors' best knowledge, this is one of few studies to examine the cost of debt among SMEs during the crisis and post-crisis periods using data from a large-scale, longitudinal, cross-sectional database.

2020 ◽  
Vol 47 (3) ◽  
pp. 547-560 ◽  
Author(s):  
Darush Yazdanfar ◽  
Peter Öhman

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to empirically investigate determinants of financial distress among small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) during the global financial crisis and post-crisis periods.Design/methodology/approachSeveral statistical methods, including multiple binary logistic regression, were used to analyse a longitudinal cross-sectional panel data set of 3,865 Swedish SMEs operating in five industries over the 2008–2015 period.FindingsThe results suggest that financial distress is influenced by macroeconomic conditions (i.e. the global financial crisis) and, in particular, by various firm-specific characteristics (i.e. performance, financial leverage and financial distress in previous year). However, firm size and industry affiliation have no significant relationship with financial distress.Research limitationsDue to data availability, this study is limited to a sample of Swedish SMEs in five industries covering eight years. Further research could examine the generalizability of these findings by investigating other firms operating in other industries and other countries.Originality/valueThis study is the first to examine determinants of financial distress among SMEs operating in Sweden using data from a large-scale longitudinal cross-sectional database.


2019 ◽  
Vol 46 (4) ◽  
pp. 925-941 ◽  
Author(s):  
Darush Yazdanfar ◽  
Peter Öhman ◽  
Saeid Homayoun

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to empirically examine capital structure determinants of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) during and after the global financial crisis. Design/methodology/approach Statistical methods, including ordinary least squares and the generalised method of moments, were used to analyse a sample of over 40,800 Swedish SMEs operating in four industries during the 2008–2015 period. Findings The results indicate that the independent variables – i.e. financial crisis, profitability, size, tangibility and industry affiliation – to various degrees explain changes in short-term debt (STD) and long-term debt (LTD) ratios. In particular, the empirical findings indicate that the sampled SMEs tended to rely more on STD and LTD during (2008–2009) than after (2010–2015) the financial crisis. Research limitations/implications Due to data availability, the current study is limited to a sample of Swedish SMEs in four industries covering eight years. Further research could examine the generalisability of these findings by investigating other firms operating in other industries and other countries. Originality/value This study is one of few examining determinants of short- and long-term SME debt during and after the global financial crisis, using data from a large-scale cross-sectional database.


2015 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 134-161 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karyn L. Neuhauser

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to provide a cohesive review of the major findings in the literature concerning the Global Financial Crisis. Design/methodology/approach – Papers published in top-rated finance and economics journal since the crisis up to the present were reviewed. A large number of these were selected for inclusion, primarily based on the number of citations they had received adjusted for the amount of time elapsed since their publication, but also partly based on how well they fit in with the narrative. Findings – Much has been done to investigate the causes of the Global Financial Crisis, its effects on various aspects of the financial system, and the effectiveness of regulatory measures undertaken to restore the financial system. While more remains to be done, the existing body of research paints an interesting picture of what happened and why it happened, describes the interrelationships between the mortgage markets and financial markets created by the large scale securitization of financial assets, identifies the problems created by these inter-linkages and offers possible solutions, and assesses the effectiveness of the regulatory response to the crisis. Originality/value – This study summarizes a vast amount of literature using a framework that allows the reader to quickly absorb a large amount of information as well as identify specific works that they may wish to examine more closely. By providing a picture of what has been done, it may also assist the reader in identifying areas that should be the subject of future research.


2019 ◽  
Vol 27 (2) ◽  
pp. 333-351 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yasser Eliwa ◽  
Andros Gregoriou ◽  
Audrey Paterson

Purpose This paper aims to investigate the empirical relationship between the cost of debt (CoD) and accruals quality (AQ) of European listed firms during the period of 2005 to 2014. Also, it aims to test the impact of the interrelationship between the financial crisis (2008-2009) and AQ on CoD. Finally, we decompose AQ into two components; the innate (InnateAQ) and discretionary components (DiscAQ); and test their relationships with CoD. Design/methodology/approach To empirically examine the relationship between AQ and CoD, a sample including 15 member states of the EU is constructed. AQ proxy is based on the McNichols (2002) modification of Dechow and Dichev (2002) model. A univariate analysis and a multivariate analysis are conducted to examine the relationship between AQ and CoD after controlling for firm characteristics and institutional variables. Findings We find a significant negative association between AQ and CoD in a vast proportion of the 15 countries under review. Also, the results indicate that during the crisis period, creditors pay relatively more attention to the quality of accounting information than during the pre-crisis period when they determine CoD of firms. Moreover, we report a link between the magnitude of this relationship and national characteristics and provide evidence of the significant effects of national characteristics and market forces on CoD. Finally, we find that InnateAQ drives the relationship with CoD. Practical implications This paper provides up-to-date evidence on the economic consequences of AQ and IFRS in the capital market. The results should, therefore, be of interest to managers, creditors, regulators and standard-setters. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first paper to investigate the effects of AQ on CoD for European listed firms. Also, it examines the impact of financial crisis on the association between AQ and CoD.


Author(s):  
Saibal Ghosh

Purpose The role of market discipline in influencing capital buffers has been debated in literature. Limited evidence on this score is available for Middle East and North Africa (MENA) countries. In this context, using data for 2001-2012, the paper aims to examine the role and relevance of market discipline in affecting capital buffer for MENA banks. Design/methodology/approach Given the longitudinal nature of the data, the paper employs dynamic panel data techniques that take on board the potential endogeneity between the dependent and independent variables. Findings The analysis indicates that the disciplining effect of depositors in MENA banks on capital buffer occurs primarily through the quantity channel, although this behaviour differs for banks with high versus those with low buffers. In particular, bigger banks which typically have thin capital cushion are much less subject to market discipline, presumably owing to their too-big-to-fail status. Originality/value The analysis differs from the extant literature in three distinct ways. First, the paper examines the differential response of Islamic banks on capital buffers via market discipline. Second, several of these countries are primarily commodity exporters. Accordingly, the paper examines the behaviour of these countries with regard to market discipline. Third, how far did the global financial crisis impact bank capital buffer had not been explored in prior empirical research, an aspect that is addressed in this study.


2016 ◽  
Vol 22 (6) ◽  
pp. 903-932 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marc Cowling ◽  
Weixi Liu ◽  
Ning Zhang

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate how entrepreneurs demand for external finance changed as the economy continued to be mired in its third and fourth years of the global financial crisis (GFC) and whether or not external finance has become more difficult to access as the recession progressed. Design/methodology/approach Using a large-scale survey data on over 30,000 UK small- and medium-sized enterprises between July 2011 and March 2013, the authors estimate a series of conditional probit models to empirically test the determinants of the supply of, and demand for external finance. Findings Older firms and those with a higher risk rating, and a record of financial delinquency, were more likely to have a demand for external finance. The opposite was true for women-led businesses and firms with positive profits. In general finance was more readily available to older firms post-GFC, but banks were very unwilling to advance money to firms with a high-risk rating or a record of any financial delinquency. It is estimated that a maximum of 42,000 smaller firms were denied credit, which was significantly lower than the peak of 119,000 during the financial crisis. Originality/value This paper provides timely evidence that adds to the general understanding of what really happens in the market for small business financing three to five years into an economic downturn and in the early post-GFC period, from both a demand and supply perspective. This will enable the authors to consider what the potential impacts of credit rationing on the small business sector are and also identify areas where government action might be appropriate.


2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (8) ◽  
pp. 1531-1553
Author(s):  
Saibal Ghosh

Purpose Using bank-level data on MENA countries during 2000-2016, this study aims to examine the role and relevance of macroprudential policies in affecting depositor discipline. Design/methodology/approach The author uses the dynamic panel data methodology as compared to alternate techniques, owing to the ability of this technique to effectively address the endogeneity problem of some of the independent variables. Findings The findings suggest that market discipline for MENA banks occurs primarily through deposit rates. During the crisis, depositors typically focus on a catch-all measure of bank performance. Second, macroprudential policies play a role in influencing market discipline. Third, the behavior of depositors in exercising market discipline is more pronounced in countries with high Islamic banking share and works mainly through the price channel. Originality/value To the best of author’s knowledge, this is one of the early studies for MENA countries to examine this issue in a systematic manner. By focusing on an extended sample of MENA country banks covering an extensive period that subsumes the global financial crisis, author’s analysis is able to shed light on the relevance of macroprudential policies in affecting depositor discipline.


2015 ◽  
Vol 33 (2) ◽  
pp. 196-204 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bill Dimovski

Purpose – Direct costs of Australian Real Estate Investment Trust (A-REIT) initial public offerings (IPOs) were last reported in the literature using data to 2004. Much has occurred since then. The purpose of this paper is to introduce and include the A-REIT IPOs over the last ten years and examine the cost and the factors influencing the percentage underwriting and percentage total direct costs by A-REITs IPOs. The study also investigates specifically whether the utilization of an underwriter (who guarantees the success of the capital raising) rather than a stockbroker (who does not guarantee such success) costs significantly more. Design/methodology/approach – The study examines 87 A-REIT IPOs from January 1994 until December 2013. An OLS regression is performed to identify significant influencing factors on percentage underwriting costs and percentage total direct capital raising costs. Findings – The study finds that larger capital raisings and those with large investor or institutional involvement identified in the prospectus are significant in reducing underwriting costs. The study does not find that underwritten IPOs are significantly more expensive (or cheaper) than those not underwritten. Additionally, the size of the issue, whether the firm offers stapled securities (is internally managed) and has higher net asset to issue price characteristics reduces the total cost of underwritten IPOs. Practical implications – The paper provides information to new A-REIT issuers, underwriters and advisors broadly on new issue costs and on factors influencing the IPO issue costs. Originality/value – The study is the first to examine the costs of A-REIT IPO capital raising data in the years prior to and following the recent global financial crisis period.


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