We study the effect of environmental, social and governance (ESG) scores on the portfolio allocations of institutional investors. Using a unique data set, we find that institutional investor holdings (as measured by 13F filings) are strongly driven by the ESG quality of companies. While...

We study the effect of environmental, social and governance (ESG) scores on the portfolio allocations of institutional investors. Using a unique data set, we find that institutional investor holdings (as measured by 13F filings) are strongly driven by the ESG quality of companies. While...

We examine the market response to the disclosure of suspicious activity reports (SARs), made public as part of the FinCEN leak. We find a significant negative stock market reaction the days after the database was made public. To further examine the effects of the FinCEN leak, we study whether...

We survey institutional investors to understand why they integrate environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors into their investment management processes. Using a unique data set, we find that limited partners (LPs) are motivated to incorporate ESG because they believe that ESG usage is...

Loan tranching allows banks to manage risk and facilitate firm financing, which may be essential for firms that cannot access investors from stock markets. We analyze the determinants and benefits of loan tranching by pooling the tranches of individual loans to create the largest cross-country...

In recent years, legal options (ex ante and ex post choices created by law) have gained acceptance in the European Union. Notwithstanding the move toward soft law measures, the EC’s appetite for options or pro-choice company law provisions remains unclear. There are significant barriers...

In this paper, we have distinguished three different positions along the reform strategy spectrum of company law. The first position is located on the left side of the spectrum and closest to stasis - where virtually no effective legal changes can occur and where only the idea of reform clashes...

In US derivative cases, plaintiffs' lawyer fees and monetary awards have a distorting effect on shareholder value. We evaluate the benefits of corporate litigation without these externalities using a dataset for the Netherlands between 2002 and 2013. We find significant abnormal returns within a...

For the last decade economists have been preoccupied with the decline in bank financing to small businesses and entrepreneurs. This effort has produced a better understanding of the obstacles to external financing. We examine the market and policy instruments that in some sense encourage more...