The Optimal Concentration of Creditors

A-Tier
Journal: Journal of Finance
Year: 2005
Volume: 60
Issue: 5
Pages: 2193-2212

Authors (2)

Score contribution per author:

2.011 = (α=2.01 / 2 authors) × 2.0x A-tier

α: calibrated so average coauthorship-adjusted count equals average raw count

Abstract

Our model assumes that creditors need to expend resources to collect on claims. Consequently, because diffuse creditors suffer from mutual free‐riding (Holmstrom (1982)), they fare worse than concentrated creditors (e.g., a house bank). The model predicts that measures of debt concentration relate positively to creditors' (aggregate) debt collection expenditures and positively to management's chosen expenditures to resist paying. However, collection activity is purely redistributive, so social waste is larger when creditors are concentrated. If borrower quality is not known, the best firms choose the most concentrated creditors and pay higher expected yields.

Technical Details

RePEc Handle
repec:bla:jfinan:v:60:y:2005:i:5:p:2193-2212
Journal Field
Finance
Author Count
2
Added to Database
2026-01-29