We argue that the focus of community banks on relationship lending to small businesses combined with their relatively simple organizational structure allowed them to respond faster to Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan requests than larger banks. Consistent with this argument we find,...

An important advantage of secured relative to unsecured debt is that it provides better protection against dilution from other creditors of the firm. While covenants may provide unsecured lenders protection from dilution arising from the issuance of additional debt, they are less likely to be...

This paper examines the determinants of the mix of private and public debt using detailed information on the debt structure of 250 publicly traded corporations from 1980 through 1990. We find that the relationship between bank borrowing and the importance of growth opportunities depends on the...

This paper examines the conditions under which bank lenders make concessions by taking equity in financially distressed firms. I show that the role banks play in debt restructurings depends upon the financial condition of the firm, the existence of public debt in the firm's capital structure and...

This paper examines the conditions under which bank lenders make concessions by taking equity in financially distressed firms. A simple model is developed which shows that the role banks play in debt restructurings depends upon the financial condition of the firms as well as the existence of...

A significant proportion of the debt issued by investment grade firms has maturities greater than 20 years. In this paper we provide evidence that gap-filling behavior is an important determinant of these very long-term issues. Using data on individual corporate debt issues between 1987 and...

Recent studies use retrospective automated valuation models (AVMs) to investigate whether appraisals of collateral values associated with securitized residential mortgage loans were systematically inflated during the recent housing boom. In this paper, we provide evidence that high AVM pricing...

Prior research finds a weak relation between cash-flow volatility and leverage. Using a novel measure of cash-flow volatility, we find that volatility matters more for firms that are financially constrained. Constrained firms issue debt when volatility is low, but have trouble deleveraging in...

This paper examines the relation between the number and type of lenders that participate in corporate loan facilities and the nature of troubled debt restructurings. We find that loans from traditional bank lenders are significantly easier to restructure out of court than loans from...

Using detailed information on the debt structure of 250 publicly traded U.S. firms over the 1980-93 period, we find that the sensitivity of investment to internally generated funds increases with a firm's reliance on bank financing. Bank-dependent firms also hold larger stocks of liquid assets...