{"title":"The demand for tax-favored risky assets with capital gains tax exclusions, tax policy uncertainty, and its implications for pricing","authors":"Yehuda Davis , Suresh Govindaraj , Tavish Tejas","doi":"10.1016/j.jcorpfin.2025.102814","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jcorpfin.2025.102814","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>We develop a model to examine how rational risk-averse individuals react and rearrange their consumption and investment choices in the presence of tax exclusions on the returns from risky assets that exclude a fixed amount of capital gains from taxation. We are specifically interested in the implications and efficacy of these special kinds of tax incentives that are commonly used to encourage investments in risky assets internationally. We also allow for tax rate uncertainty. We show that the effects of these tax exclusions on investors are nuanced and may not always achieve the desired policy objective of stimulating higher investments in risky assets. We identify the endogenously computed regions with shared common boundaries where increasing capital gains tax exclusions will stimulate higher demand for risky assets, have no effect on demand at all, or even have an opposite effect by reducing demand. While our results apply to tax exclusions in general, we provide two specific examples using (i) data from the United States housing market, and (ii) the United Kingdom stock market, for a CRRA investor. We also provide insights on the pricing and related issues for these tax-favored risky assets.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":15525,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Corporate Finance","volume":"94 ","pages":"Article 102814"},"PeriodicalIF":7.2,"publicationDate":"2025-07-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144653276","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Daniel Ferreira , Tom Kirchmaier , Daniel Metzger , Shiwei Ye
{"title":"Boards of Banks","authors":"Daniel Ferreira , Tom Kirchmaier , Daniel Metzger , Shiwei Ye","doi":"10.1016/j.jcorpfin.2025.102839","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jcorpfin.2025.102839","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Bank board directors are highly independent but possess limited prior banking experience. Using a sample of banks from 90 countries between 2000 and 2020, we find that country-specific characteristics explain most of the cross-sectional variation in bank board independence. In contrast, country characteristics have little explanatory power for boards’ banking experience. While we document evidence of international convergence in bank board independence, U.S. banks lag behind their global counterparts in director banking experience. The data suggest that country-specific laws and regulations primarily shape bank board composition through requirements for director independence.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":15525,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Corporate Finance","volume":"94 ","pages":"Article 102839"},"PeriodicalIF":7.2,"publicationDate":"2025-07-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144631704","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Networks and information in credit markets","authors":"Abhimanyu Gupta , Sotirios Kokas , Alexander Michaelides , Raoul Minetti","doi":"10.1016/j.jcorpfin.2025.102840","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jcorpfin.2025.102840","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>A large literature emphasizes financial networks, but understanding how these networks influence lending decisions over the business cycle remains challenging. We exploit the overlapping bank portfolio structure of US syndicated loans to construct a financial network. Using techniques from spatial econometrics, we document large spillovers in lending conditions during good times, driven by commonality in banks’ loan portfolio exposures. A standard deviation increase in peers’ lending rates is associated with an increase in a bank’s lending rate of 17 basis points. However, these spillovers vanish in a large recession. We interpret these findings through a syndicate lending model where information spillovers driven by loan portfolio commonality dilute banks’ incentives to produce private information on borrowers during good times.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":15525,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Corporate Finance","volume":"94 ","pages":"Article 102840"},"PeriodicalIF":7.2,"publicationDate":"2025-07-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144534460","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Huu Nhan Duong , Petko S. Kalev , Madhu Kalimipalli , Saurabh Trivedi
{"title":"Do firms benefit from carbon risk management? Evidence from the credit default swaps market","authors":"Huu Nhan Duong , Petko S. Kalev , Madhu Kalimipalli , Saurabh Trivedi","doi":"10.1016/j.jcorpfin.2025.102843","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jcorpfin.2025.102843","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This paper contributes to existing climate finance literature by examining how firms' proactive management of carbon risks affects market assessment of their credit risk. Using two quasi-exogenous events involving the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement and the staggered implementation of U.S. state climate adaptation plans, we find that stronger carbon risk management is associated with significantly lower credit default swap spreads. Our results are not driven by firm-level climate exposure, and social or governance risk. Firms with better carbon risk management also exhibit lower subsequent carbon emissions. Our paper highlights the importance of carbon risk management in mitigating credit risk.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":15525,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Corporate Finance","volume":"94 ","pages":"Article 102843"},"PeriodicalIF":7.2,"publicationDate":"2025-06-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144580246","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Katsiaryna Salavei Bardos , Dev R. Mishra , Hyacinthe Y. Somé
{"title":"Firm-level climate sentiments, climate politics and implied cost of equity capital","authors":"Katsiaryna Salavei Bardos , Dev R. Mishra , Hyacinthe Y. Somé","doi":"10.1016/j.jcorpfin.2025.102846","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jcorpfin.2025.102846","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>In a sample of U.S. firms, we find strong evidence that firms' implied cost of equity is decreasing in a novel proxy of firm-level climate change sentiments of earnings call participants, supporting prior literature that shows investors demand higher returns from their investments in brown firms and lower returns from that in green firms. This effect, however, is particularly pronounced for the firm-years headquartered in the states experiencing higher than median per-capita energy related CO2 emissions, those headquartered in climate related disaster intensive counties and those headquartered in RED and SWING states, supporting “boomerang hypothesis” that green firms are hedged against potential changes in local climate standards and thus enjoy considerably cheaper financing in the localities marred with greenhouse gas emission concerns, climate related physical disasters, and climate unfriendly political environment. We utilize the variation in regionwide and statewide public beliefs about scientists' beliefs regarding the occurrence of global warming as an instrument to address endogeneity issues, among other tests.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":15525,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Corporate Finance","volume":"94 ","pages":"Article 102846"},"PeriodicalIF":7.2,"publicationDate":"2025-06-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144523184","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Central bank digital currency and corporate cash holdings: Evidence from China's e-CNY pilot","authors":"Guanglong Zhang , Kam C. Chan","doi":"10.1016/j.jcorpfin.2025.102847","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jcorpfin.2025.102847","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>We examine the impact of a central bank digital currency (CBDC) on corporate cash holding decisions, utilizing China's staggered e-CNY pilot program as a quasi-natural experiment. Our findings demonstrate that firms operating in pilot areas significantly decrease their cash holdings following the introduction of e-CNY. Mechanism tests indicate that e-CNY serves as a novel governance mechanism that reduces firm agency costs, thereby diminishing agency motives for cash hoarding. It also acts as a powerful surveillance tool that leads to greater government subsidies, broader access to bank loans, and lower debt financing costs, thus reducing precautionary and transactional motives for holding cash. Additionally, dynamic tests suggest that e-CNY increases firms' cash adjustment speed. This study provides initial evidence that CBDCs, through their inherent characteristics of transparency, traceability, immutability, and programmability, can mitigate agency problems, reduce information asymmetry, and enhance economic transparency. However, this may also raise concerns about privacy and government overreach that require further study.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":15525,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Corporate Finance","volume":"94 ","pages":"Article 102847"},"PeriodicalIF":7.2,"publicationDate":"2025-06-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144549435","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Zhifan Tian , Cheng (Colin) Zeng , Chaofan Li , Yi Wu
{"title":"Peer effects of star-analysts' departure: New evidence from China","authors":"Zhifan Tian , Cheng (Colin) Zeng , Chaofan Li , Yi Wu","doi":"10.1016/j.jcorpfin.2025.102844","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jcorpfin.2025.102844","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This paper examines how the departure of star analysts influences the performance of their non-star peers. Using manually collected data from China, we observe that non-star analysts enhance their forecast accuracy after a star analyst leaves. This effect is particularly pronounced when non-star analysts have previously worked within hierarchical teams or when the departing star analyst held significant internal resources within the brokerage. Additionally, the performance improvements are more substantial in environments with greater promotion opportunities and in brokerages characterized by a collective organizational culture. To establish causality, we leverage the suspension and subsequent reform of the star analyst voting system as an exogenous shock. A difference-in-difference (DID) analysis demonstrates that brokerages more affected by this shock exhibit larger improvements in analyst forecast accuracy. These findings offer new insights into the celebrity effect, highlighting how changes in team structure and internal competition influence analyst performance.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":15525,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Corporate Finance","volume":"94 ","pages":"Article 102844"},"PeriodicalIF":7.2,"publicationDate":"2025-06-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144556935","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Voluntary disclosures and climate change uncertainty: Evidence from CDS premiums","authors":"Michael B. Imerman , Xiaoxia Ye , Ran Zhao","doi":"10.1016/j.jcorpfin.2025.102831","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jcorpfin.2025.102831","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>We examine the effect of voluntary climate risk disclosure on Credit Default Swap (CDS) premiums. We develop a structural model, in which climate-related disclosures serve as an information source reducing climate change uncertainty. The model predicts a negative relation between the informativeness of climate risk disclosure and the CDS premium, and asymmetric effects of positive and negative disclosure tone on the CDS premium. Using climate risk measures quantified from earnings call transcripts, we provide evidence supporting these predictions with causal inference. Our study suggests that climate risk is priced in the CDS market, where investors pay attention to climate risk disclosures.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":15525,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Corporate Finance","volume":"94 ","pages":"Article 102831"},"PeriodicalIF":7.2,"publicationDate":"2025-06-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144522903","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Rui Huang , Xuejun Jiang , Leonard Leye Li , Louise Yi Lu , Yangxin Yu
{"title":"The impact of local corruption on firms' narrative R&D disclosures","authors":"Rui Huang , Xuejun Jiang , Leonard Leye Li , Louise Yi Lu , Yangxin Yu","doi":"10.1016/j.jcorpfin.2025.102841","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jcorpfin.2025.102841","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study examines the impact of local corruption on firms' narrative research and development (R&D) disclosures in the United States. We find that firms in more corrupt areas include fewer R&D sentences in their 10-K filings, and these sentences contain less numerical and forward-looking information. Our results hold across various measures of local corruption and R&D disclosures and remain robust after controlling for firms' R&D activities, implementing fixed effects, using difference-in-differences tests, and applying instrumental variable analysis. Additionally, the effects are more pronounced for firms with concentrated operations in their headquarters states and for firms whose R&D disclosures closely relate to future earnings. However, they are less pronounced for firms with CEOs politically aligned with the state's incumbent party and when the benefit of resolving market dispersion from firms' R&D disclosure is high. Overall, our findings indicate that local corruption adversely affects firms' narrative R&D disclosures.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":15525,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Corporate Finance","volume":"94 ","pages":"Article 102841"},"PeriodicalIF":7.2,"publicationDate":"2025-06-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144501337","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Subsidizing uncertain investments: The role of production technology and imprecise learning","authors":"Christian Riis Flor , Kevin Berg Grell","doi":"10.1016/j.jcorpfin.2025.102829","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jcorpfin.2025.102829","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This paper investigates the interplay between government subsidies, production technology, and learning through imprecise signals in shaping a firm’s investment strategy. Utilizing a real options framework with complementary investments, we address uncertainty in different investment stages and the limited informativeness of signals. Our findings reveal that optimal subsidization aligns a firm’s incentives with the evolving knowledge gained during the investment process. Specifically, the interaction between production technology elasticity and signal quality is crucial. Subsidies prove most effective when signals are highly informative, particularly when the technology’s returns are dependent on later-stage investments. This analysis highlights the need to manage uncertainty at each stage to maximize social net benefits, offering insights for policymakers on structuring subsidies under uncertainty.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":15525,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Corporate Finance","volume":"94 ","pages":"Article 102829"},"PeriodicalIF":7.2,"publicationDate":"2025-06-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144556934","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}