We analyze liquidity components of corporate bond spreads by combining the superior data quality of transaction-level corporate bond prices available through TRACE with the unique natural experiment provided by the onset of the sub-prime crisis. We find that before the onset of the crisis,...

We show that bonds issued by financial firms have higher spreads than bonds issued by industrial firms with the same rating and we denote this difference the financial premium. During the period 1987-2020 the premium was on average 43bps in the U.S. corresponding to a 31% higher spread and the...

We analyze liquidity components of corporate bond spreads during 2005–2009 using a new robust illiquidity measure. The spread contribution from illiquidity increases dramatically with the onset of the subprime crisis. The increase is slow and persistent for investment grade bonds while the...

We analyze a six-factor model for Treasury bonds, corporate bonds, and swap rates and decompose swap spreads into three components: A convenience yield from holding Treasuries, a credit risk element from the underlying LIBOR rate, and a factor specific to the swap market. The convenience yield...

We analyze a six-factor model for Treasury bonds, corporate bonds, and swap rates and decompose swap spreads into three components: a convenience yield from holding Treasuries, a credit risk element from the underlying LIBOR rate, and a factor specific to the swap market. The convenience yield...

Financial regulation has led banks to increase their equity ratios. Yet, several studies find that this has not led to a decrease in bank equity risk. We show theoretically, that keeping less capital in excess of the minimum capital requirement can outweigh the risk-reducing effect on equity of...