G3 - Corporate Finance and Governance

• Financial Constraints and the Cash-Holding Behaviour of Canadian Firms

  Staff Discussion Paper 2008-16 Darcey McVanel, Nikita Perevalov

  The proportion of assets held by the average Canadian firm in the form of cash has increased steadily since the early 1990s, and is now roughly twice as large as in 1990. The literature has established that the cash-holding behaviour of firms is highly correlated with financial constraints and firm characteristics.

  Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff discussion papers Topic(s): Sectoral balance sheet JEL Code(s): G, G1, G11, G3, G32

• Non-Linearities, Model Uncertainty, and Macro Stress Testing

  Staff Working Paper 2008-30 Miroslav Misina, David Tessier

  A distinguishing feature of macro stress testing exercises is the use of macroeconomic models in scenario design and implementation. It is widely agreed that scenarios should be based on "rare but plausible" events that have either resulted in vulnerabilities in the past or could do so in the future.

  Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Topic(s): Financial stability JEL Code(s): C, C1, C15, G, G2, G21, G3, G33

• The Cost of Equity in Canada: An International Comparison

  Staff Working Paper 2008-21 Jonathan Witmer

  This paper calculates an implied cost of equity for 19 developed countries from 1991 to 2006. During this period, there has been a decline in the cost of equity of about 10-15 bps per year, which can be partially attributed to declining government yields and declining inflation.

  Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Topic(s): Financial markets, International topics JEL Code(s): G, G3, G30, G38

• The Effect of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act on CEO Pay for Luck

  Staff Working Paper 2008-20 Teodora Paligorova

  According to the rent-extraction hypothesis, weak corporate governance allows entrenched CEOs to capture the pay-setting process and benefit from events outside of their control – get paid for luck.

  Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Topic(s): Labour markets JEL Code(s): G, G3, G38, J, J3, J33, M, M5, M52

• An Examination of Canadian Firms Delisting from U.S. Exchanges

  Staff Working Paper 2008-11 Jonathan Witmer

  This paper examines Canadian and other foreign firms that have been involuntarily delisted from major U.S. exchanges. I find that, for most countries, less than 10% of firms get delisted from a U.S. exchange during my sample period.

  Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Topic(s): Financial markets, International topics JEL Code(s): G, G3, G30, G38

• Do Firms Adjust Toward a Target Leverage Level?

  Staff Working Paper 2007-50 Zhaoxia Xu

  This paper studies capital structure adjustment mechanisms of firms that experience substantial changes in leverage.

  Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Topic(s): Financial markets, International topics JEL Code(s): G, G3, G32

• Estimating and Comparing the Implied Cost of Equity for Canadian and U.S. Firms

  Staff Working Paper 2007-48 Jonathan Witmer, Lorie Zorn

  This paper estimates the implied cost of equity for Canadian and U.S. firms using a methodology based on the dividend discount model and utilizing firms' current stock price and analysts' forecasted earnings.

  Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Topic(s): Financial markets, International topics JEL Code(s): G, G3, G30, G38

• Cyclical Behavior of Debt and Equity Using a Panel of Canadian Firms

  Staff Working Paper 2007-44 Francisco Covas, Wouter den Haan

  We document the cyclical behavior of debt, equity, and retained earnings for different firm categories using firm-level Canadian data.

  Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Topic(s): Business fluctuations and cycles JEL Code(s): E, E3, E32, G, G3, G32

• Firms Dynamics, Bankruptcy Laws and Total Factor Productivity

  Staff Working Paper 2007-17 Hajime Tomura

  This paper analyzes endogenous fluctuations in total factor productivity (TFP) in a dynamic general equilibrium model with heterogeneous agents, and illustrates the interaction of credit market frictions, asset prices, the entry and exit of firms, and fluctuations in TFP in response to firm-level productivity and aggregate credit-market shocks. I also analyze the effect of bankruptcy and foreclosure laws on fluctuations in TFP through their effect on credit market frictions.

  Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Topic(s): Financial stability, Productivity JEL Code(s): D, D2, D24, E, E4, E44, G, G3, G33

• Stress Testing the Corporate Loans Portfolio of the Canadian Banking Sector

  Staff Working Paper 2006-47 Miroslav Misina, David Tessier, Shubhasis Dey

  Stress testing, at its most general level, is an investigation of the performance of an entity under abnormal operating conditions.

  Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Topic(s): Financial institutions, Financial stability JEL Code(s): C, C1, C15, G, G2, G21, G3, G33