Credit enhancement and bond rating : An empirical study of the bonds issued by local government financing platforms

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the difference of credit enhancement of variously secured bonds issued by local government financing platform bond (LGFPB). Design/methodology/approach The approaches to secure the bonds usually include mortgage, collateral, guarantee, etc. Findings Using a sample of LGFPBs issued during the 2007-2013 period, the authors find that all of the approaches to secure the bonds would increase the bond rating and that compounded approaches have a higher credit enhancement effect than single approaches. Among these approaches, the requirement of collateral has the strongest enhancement effect. Moreover, the authors find that the guarantee provided by a state-owned bank or enterprise increases the bond rating more than the guarantee provided by other local government financing platforms. Research limitations/implications The findings in this study suggest that the credit enhancement would be deeply affected by the approach used to secure the bond. Practical implications These results can help the local government make better decisions when issuing bond. Originality/value This study empirically analyzes the different credit enhancement approaches for securing LGPFBs for the first time and contributes to the literature regarding credit ratings of local government bonds.