We analyse interactions of simultaneous shifts in comprehensive balance sheet items annually and identify common (latent) factors, which are consistent across years. Five factors are interpreted to reflect five major decisions in businesses: Financial Flexibility, Short-term Credit, Long-term...

We find that Chinese public firms surrounded by a higher number of Buddhist and Taoist temples are associated with relatively lower expected default risk (EDF). In contrast to the widely documented impact of Western religiosity on corporate behaviors, our mechanism tests indicate that lower EDF...