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  • 2022
  • Working Paper

Complexity in Loan Contracts

By: Victoria Ivashina and Boris Vallée
  • Format:Print
  • | Language:English
  • | Pages:58
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Abstract

Using novel data on 1,240 credit agreements from the leveraged loan market, we propose simple measures of contractual complexity based on clauses qualifying negative covenants. We document a high average level of contractual complexity and significant heterogeneity. Sophisticated borrowers, and larger non-bank funding of a loan, are associated with more complex contractual terms. The 2017 J.Crew debt restructuring, a high-profile case involving a complex contract, corresponds to a market-wide value transfer from lenders to equity holders for borrowers with complex loan contracts. Contractual complexity in lending thus appears to have important economic implications consistent with weaker control rights for lenders.

Keywords

Leveraged Loans; Loan Contracts; Debt Covenants; Carve-out; Creditor Governance; LBO; Credit; Agreements and Arrangements; Leveraged Buyouts

Citation

Ivashina, Victoria, and Boris Vallée. "Complexity in Loan Contracts." NBER Working Paper Series, No. 27316, June 2020. (Revised June 2022.)
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About The Authors

Victoria Ivashina

Finance
→More Publications

Boris Vallee

Finance
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More from the Authors

    • August 2023
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    Why Is Dollar Debt Cheaper? Evidence from Peru

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More from the Authors
  • Can Security Design Foster Household Risk-Taking? By: Laurent Calvet, Claire Célérier, Paolo Sodini and Boris Vallée
  • Seso Global: Building a Blockchain-enabled Property Marketplace in Nigeria By: Boris Vallee, Sean Bracken and Yang Yu
  • Why Is Dollar Debt Cheaper? Evidence from Peru By: Bryan Gutiérrez, Victoria Ivashina and Juliana Salomao
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