The Journal of Finance publishes leading research across all the major fields of finance. It is one of the most widely cited journals in academic finance, and in all of economics. Each of the six issues per year reaches over 8,000 academics, finance professionals, libraries, and government and financial institutions around the world. The journal is the official publication of The American Finance Association, the premier academic organization devoted to the study and promotion of knowledge about financial economics.
AFA members can log in to view full-text articles below.
View past issues
Search the Journal of Finance:
Search results: 5.
Is the Corporate Loan Market Globally Integrated? A Pricing Puzzle
Published: 11/28/2007, Volume: 62, Issue: 6 | DOI: 10.1111/j.1540-6261.2007.01298.x | Cited by: 168
MARK CAREY, GREG NINI
We offer evidence that interest rate spreads on syndicated loans to corporate borrowers are economically significantly smaller in Europe than in the United States, other things equal. Differences in borrower, loan, and lender characteristics do not appear to explain this phenomenon. Borrowers overwhelmingly issue in their natural home market and bank portfolios display home bias. This may explain why pricing discrepancies are not competed away, though their causes remain a puzzle. Thus, important determinants of loan origination market outcomes remain to be identified, home bias appears to be material for pricing, and corporate financing costs differ across Europe and the United States.
Losing Control? The Two‐Decade Decline in Loan Covenant Violations
Published: 12/14/2025, Volume: 81, Issue: 1 | DOI: 10.1111/jofi.70005 | Cited by: 4
THOMAS P. GRIFFIN, GREG NINI, DAVID C. SMITH
The annual proportion of U.S. public firms that reported a financial covenant violation fell roughly 70% between 1997 and 2019. To understand this trend, we develop an estimable model of covenant design that depends on the ability to differentiate between distressed and nondistressed borrowers and the relative costs associated with screening incorrectly. We find that the drop in violations is best explained by an increased willingness to forgo early detection of distressed borrowers in exchange for fewer inconsequential violations, which we attribute largely to a shift in the composition of public borrowers and partly to heightened investor sentiment during the 2010s.
Securitization and Capital Structure in Nonfinancial Firms: An Empirical Investigation
Published: 7/18/2014, Volume: 69, Issue: 4 | DOI: 10.1111/jofi.12128 | Cited by: 58
MICHAEL LEMMON, LAURA XIAOLEI LIU, MIKE QINGHAO MAO, GREG NINI
Contrary to recent accounts of off‐balance‐sheet securitization by financial firms, we show that asset securitization by nonfinancial firms provides a valuable form of financing for shareholders without harming debtholders. Using data from firms’ SEC filings, we find that securitization is attractive to firms in the middle of the credit quality distribution, which are the firms with the most to gain. Upon initiation, firms experience positive abnormal stock returns and zero abnormal bond returns, and largely use the securitization proceeds to repay existing debt. Securitization minimizes financing costs by reducing expected bankruptcy costs and providing access to segmented credit markets.
Financing the Gig Economy
Published: 11/16/2023, Volume: 79, Issue: 1 | DOI: 10.1111/jofi.13292 | Cited by: 15
GREG BUCHAK
Unlike traditional firm production, gig economy workers provide their own physical capital. As a consequence, the low‐income households for whom gig economy opportunities are most valuable often borrow to participate. In the context of ride share, difference‐in‐difference analysis reveals increased vehicle purchases, borrowing, utilization, and employment around entry, but financially constrained individuals cannot participate. To assess the equilibrium importance of financing, I build and estimate a structural model of the gig economy. Access to finance proves critical for the gig economy's growth: without finance, equilibrium quantities would be 40% lower and prices 90% higher, and only higher‐income households could participate as drivers.
The Role of ESOPs in Takeover Contests
Published: 9/1994, Volume: 49, Issue: 4 | DOI: 10.1111/j.1540-6261.1994.tb02461.x | Cited by: 64
SUSAN CHAPLINSKY, GREG NIEHAUS
This article examines both the shareholder wealth effects of employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs) announced by firms subject to takeover pressure and the takeover incidence of targets with and without ESOPs. Although we do not find that defensive ESOPs significantly reduce shareholder wealth on average, we identify two factors—the change in managerial and employee ownership due to the ESOP and the simultaneous announcement of other defensive tactics—that are associated with negative stock price reactions. We find that ESOPs are strong deterrents to takeover. ESOP targets that are acquired earn higher returns than targets without ESOPs, but the difference is not statistically significant.