This paper investigates the effect of ownership structure on the cost efficiency of Australian building societies using the stochastic econometric frontier approach. Contrary to the expense preference hypothesis, mutually owned societies we found to be, on average, more cost efficient than those...

We examine the role of issuer-underwriter relationships in determining underwriter spreads for Eurobond floating rate notes during 1992-2002. Financial and nonfinancial firms with long-term relationships pay a higher underwriter spread. Financial issuers that switch underwriters receive a...

The paper examines the determinants of contract terms on bank revolving credit agreements (revolvers) of medium/large publicly traded companies. We model the duration (maturity), secured status, and pricing decisions within a simultaneous decision framework, thereby overcoming the biased and...

Incomplete observations are a common feature of financial applications that use survey response, annual report, and proprietary banking and security issue and pricing data. Finance researchers use a variety of procedures, including deleting offending observations and imputing ad hoc values, that...

We examine the choice of issuance mechanism for 833 unseasoned equity issues (the choice between initial public offers (IPOs) and direct placements (DPs)) prior to exchange listing. Using unique Australian data and incorporating interrelated decisions, we find that corporate control concerns...