We examine the impact of corporate tax avoidance on the price and non-price terms of bank loans. We predict and provide evidence that banks charge lower loan spreads and impose fewer covenant restrictions when firms exhibit greater tax avoidance. These favorable effects are more pronounced for...

Using a large sample of loans initiated by firms targeted by hedge fund activists during 1994-2008, we show that hedge fund activism has significant impacts on firms' bank loan contracts. After the targeting announcement, and relative to firms that are not targeted, the targeted firms pay...

Using a large sample of privately held Korean companies that are not required to obtain an external audit, this paper examines the value of voluntary external audits of financial statements with respect to the cost of debt. We find that private companies with an external audit pay a...

Using a sample of non-U.S. firms from 22 countries during 2003–2007, we examine the effect of firm-level governance on various features of loan contracting in the international loan market. We find that banks charge lower loan rates, offer larger and longer-maturity loans, and impose fewer...

This study investigates whether a firm's cost of equity capital is influenced by the extent of a firm's real activities management. Using a large sample of U.S. firms, we find that our proxy for the cost of capital is positively associated with the extent of earnings management through the real...

Using the most recent machine learning-based image-processing techniques, we investigate whether banks factor borrowing firm's chief executive officer (CEO) facial trustworthiness into bank loan contracting. We find that banks tend to grant more favorable loan terms to firms with...