What drives the dynamics of bank debt renegotiation in Europe? A survival analysis approach

Debt renegotiation matters for the borrower-lender relationship to ensure the credit agreement is regularly amended to include new information and make it more “complete”. I investigate the determinants of the dynamics of bank loan renegotiations using a sample of 1 600 amendments to private debt contracts in Europe. The median duration between loan amendments equals 1 year, although frequently renegotiated contracts are amended every 5 months. Employing a stratified Cox-type hazard model, I find that initial loan terms, banking pool features, amendments’ characteristics, and the legal environment significantly influence the duration time between renegotiations. Contract complexity, informational frictions in the borrower-lender relationship, the uncertainty of the economic environment, and the legal protection of creditors also play a major role in shaping the dynamics of bank loan renegotiation in Europe.