The issuance of sustainability-linked loans (SLLs) has grown exponentially in recent years. Using a scoring methodology, we examine the underlying key performance indicators of a large sample of SLLs and analyze whether their design creates effective incentives for improving corporate...

The right to ask questions and voice their opinions at annual general meetings (AGMs) represents one of the few avenues for shareholders to communicate directly and publicly with the firm's management. Examining AGM transcripts of U.S. companies between 2007 and 2021, we find that shareholders...

The right to ask questions and voice their opinions at annual general meetings (AGMs) represents one of the few avenues for shareholders to communicate directly and publicly with the firm’s management. Examining AGM transcripts of U.S. companies between 2007 and 2021, we find that shareholders...

We compare the effects of corporate social responsibility (CSR) on perceived firm risk under two different (non-)financial reporting regimes: the risk-based U.S. and the content-based European system. We find that the risk-reducing effect of CSR is driven by volatile market phases in the U.S....

This paper examines the profitability of investing according to environmental, social and governance (ESG) criteria in the U.S. and Europe. Based on data from 2003 to 2017, we show that a portfolio long in stocks with the highest ESG scores and short in those with the lowest scores yields a...

We study the effects of corporate social responsibility on credit risk for U.S. and European firms over the period 2003 to 2018. Differentiating between the various facets of corporate social responsibility shows that only environmental aspects reduce different measures of credit risk for U.S....