We document a novel trend in syndicated lending where some participants voluntarily waive their rights to access borrowers’ private information. Although these public-side lenders are unable to use private information to evaluate borrowers’ creditworthiness, forgoing their access to private...

Recent years have seen a new trend in commercial bank lending—loans with no financial covenants. These covenant light, or cov-lite, loans raise concerns about excessive risk to lenders due to lack of monitoring. In this study, we examine the consequences of cov-lite loans. Focusing on rated,...

Evidence of the effect of lender financial reporting incentives on debt contract design is sparse. We examine whether regulatory capital adequacy, a first-order reporting concern for banks, is associated with the strictness of financial covenants included in loan contracts. We provide evidence...