Following the September 11, 2001 attacks, numerous countries signed a special nonbinding arrangement to enhance cross-border enforcement of securities laws. This agreement is the Multilateral Memorandum of Understanding Concerning Consultation and Cooperation and the Exchange of Information (MMoU). This study examines whether and how a country's MMoU entry affects firms' dividend payout policies. Relative to domestic US firms, foreign firms cross-listed in the US report a significant increase in dividend payouts after their home country entered the MMoU. Furthermore, the effect of MMoU on corporate dividend payouts is pronounced for (1) firms with high agency costs, (2) countries with low external governance quality, and (3) countries with poor disclosure environments. Furthermore, we find that MMoU significantly changes the corporate governance structure. Our findings collectively corroborate the prediction of the dividend outcome model and are consistent with the notion that strengthening cross-border regulatory enforcement of foreign firms improves protection for outside shareholders and increases dividend payouts.

在 2001 年 9 月 11 日的袭击事件之后，许多国家签署了一项特殊的非约束性安排，以加强证券法的跨境执法。该协议是关于磋商与合作和信息交流 (MMoU) 的多边谅解备忘录。本研究考察了一个国家的 MMoU 条目是否以及如何影响公司的股息支付政策。相对于美国本土公司，在美国交叉上市的外国公司报告说，在其母国加入 MMoU 后，股息支付显着增加。此外，MMoU 对公司股息支付的影响在 (1) 代理成本高的公司，(2) 外部治理质量低的国家，以及 (3) 披露环境差的国家。此外，我们发现 MMoU 显着改变了公司治理结构。我们的研究结果共同证实了股息结果模型的预测，并且与加强对外国公司的跨境监管执法可以改善对外部股东的保护并增加股息支付的观点一致。