Abstract

Data on firm-loan-level daily credit line drawdowns in the United States expose a corporate “dash for cash” induced by the COVID-19 pandemic. In the first phase of the crisis, which was characterized by extreme precaution and heightened aggregate risk, all firms drew down bank credit lines and raised cash levels. In the second phase, which followed the adoption of stabilization policies, only the highest-rated firms switched to capital markets to raise cash. Consistent with the risk of becoming a fallen angel, the lowest-quality BBB-rated firms behaved more similarly to non-investment grade firms. The observed corporate behavior reveals the significant impact of credit risk on corporate cash holdings. (JEL G01, G14, G32, G35)Received July 13, 2020; editorial decision July 17, 2020 by Editor Andrew Ellul

中文翻译：

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在COVID中成为堕落天使的风险和公司的现金冲刺

摘要

美国公司贷款水平每日信贷额度下降的数据暴露了COVID-19大流行引起的公司“现金冲刺”。在危机的第一阶段，其特点是采取极端的预防措施并提高了总体风险，所有公司都降低了银行信贷额度并提高了现金水平。在采用稳定化政策的第二阶段中，只有评级最高的公司转向资本市场以筹集现金。与成为堕落天使的风险一致，质量最低的BBB级公司的行为与非投资级公司的行为更相似。观察到的公司行为揭示了信用风险对公司现金持有量的重大影响。（JELG01，G14，G32，G35）2020年7月13日收到; 编辑决定2020年7月17日，编辑安德鲁·埃卢尔