This paper investigates predictions of structural credit risk models for interest rate sensitivities of corporate bond returns. Recent evidence has shown that the existing models fail to capture this sensitivity (a stylized fact referred to as the interest rate sensitivity puzzle). We propose...

We study the impact of underwriter competition on corporate bond contracts. We develop a new measure of underwriter power and a novel empirical approach, based on the underwriter's comparative ability to place bonds. When an issuer has few "outside options" to take his bond to the market, the...

Using 2002–2014 insurer transactions, we provide the first empirical evidence on underwriters' allocation practices in the primary market for corporate bonds. Since bonds are often underpriced, allocations generate for investors an estimated $41 billion of first-day profits. These profits...

Using novel data and a difference-in-differences strategy, I find that central bank corporate bond purchases lead firms to issue more bonds. The increased bond capital does not lead to significant increases in real investment; rather, they lead to more equity payouts. The diff-in-diff exploits...

Using a regulatory version of TRACE data that include almost all primary and secondary market trades in corporate bonds over the period 2010-2017, we provide the first comprehensive study on the primary market for corporate bonds. Secondary market illiquidity can drive gains from primary market...

Using newly available data on initial prices, this study is the first to analyze the price updating process associated with corporate bond (CB) offerings. Similar to the case for equity IPOs, the evidence shows that bookbuilding theories help explain the CB offering price. In particular, CB...

The rapid rise of corporate bond portfolio trading since the end of 2017 has attracted attention from practitioners and regulators alike. I show that inventory hedging explains the recent meteoric rise of corporate bond portfolio trading, likely aided by the recent proliferation of credit index...

Do rating announcements reduce information asymmetries? We investigate the effect of rating disclosures on the volatility and liquidity of the US bond market. Although rating agencies' decisions often are anticipated by credit spread changes, we show that in the case of no regulatory change...

Our study examines firms’ motivation to issue hybrid bonds. Hybrid bonds have been issued in more than 15 different countries around the world and have been the most relevant class of hybrid securities in these countries since 2005. A hybrid bond offers several structuring opportunities....

The paper models and analyses the dynamics of credit spread curves based on ratings over the period from 2004 to 2021. Using more than 1.5 million data points of individual bonds, instead of using index data, monthly asset swap spread (ASW) curves are constructed for all rating levels. The paper...