A recent proposal to enhance banking stability recommends the use of contingent convertibles (CoCos). Since these hybrid securities are mandatorily converted into equity when banks are in need of a recapitalization, they are credited for reducing banks’ likelihood of financial distress. In...

Purpose – Seek to compare the consequences of single-source versus multiple-source lending for a borrower who has loans that can be prematurely terminated. Design/methodology/approach – The considered model framework is an option-theoretic firm value model similar to Merton (1974) but where...

Purpose – The purpose of this article is to determine the optimal use of collateral in order to maximize the borrower's wealth by reducing the interest rate payments. This analysis is to shed light on the fundamental question whether good or bad borrowers pledge more collateral....

In this paper, we show that an individual optimal credit rating exists for firms and empirically test whether firms strive to achieve their optimal rating. For this purpose, we consider the structural model by Leland [12], which balances the benefits of debt in the form of the tax-deductibility...

In this paper, we analyze the optimal default strategy of a firm when debt is convertible into equity. For this purpose, we consider a convertible consol bond in a timeindependent model in the presence of bankruptcy costs and tax deductibility. The optimal default and conversion strategy result...

In this paper, we characterize optimal conversion strategies and the related values of convertible bonds and stocks under a sequential conversion policy. Contrary to the existing literature, we consider firms that have both subordinated debt outstanding and convertible bonds. The additional debt...

In this paper, we analyze the consequences of bank regulation on the size of the real sector. In particular, we address the question whether exogenous shocks on the return-risk characteristics of the technology and on the equity of the real sector are intensified or damped by a value-at-risk...

Agency conflicts and asymmetric information are two possible explanations that may rationalize the use of a step-up provision in the bond indenture. Within a continuous-time framework with bankruptcy costs and tax benefits, we analyze the optimal step-up bond design with respect to both...

Assessing the risk of bank failures is the paramount concern of bank regulation. This paper argues that in order to assess the default risk of a bank, it is important to consider its financing decisions as an endogenous dynamic process. We provide a continuous-time model, where banks choose the...

In this paper, we analyze whether model risk/asset-specific ambiguity is an issue for institutional investors. For this purpose, we first show how model risk (which turns out to be equivalent to special cases of ambiguity) affects optimal portfolio allocation. Using average portfolio holdings...