Open Access
How credit ratings affect sovereign credit risk: cross-border evidence in Latin American emerging markets
(Elsevier, 2016) Ballester Miquel, Laura; González Urteaga, Ana; Gestión de Empresas; Enpresen Kudeaketa
This article builds upon previous literature by providing a better understanding of how contagion changes in bordering sovereign CDS emerging markets resulting from credit rating events. To that end, we follow the novel GVAR methodology using data from six Latin American emerging countries during an extensive sample period from 2004 to 2014. Our findings show evidence for the existence of significant and asymmetric cross-border effects. In particular, a competition effect is observed before the event occurs, indicating that non-event countries suffer (benefit) from upgrades (downgrades) in Brazil, Mexico and Chile (in Argentina and Brazil). In contrast, an imitation effect is observed after rating upgrades in Chile, to the benefit of bordering non-event countries.
Open Access
Volatility transmission among European Bank CDS
(Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha, 2014) Alemany, Aida; Ballester Miquel, Laura; González Urteaga, Ana; Gestión de Empresas; Enpresen Kudeaketa
A partir de la crisis subprime en 2007 y hasta la reciente crisis de deuda de la zona euro el sector bancario europeo ha experimentado una terrible situación de inestabilidad financiera traducida en un aumento de los niveles de los CDS (utilizados como aproximación del riesgo de crédito). Este trabajo investiga si los canales de transmisión de volatilidad en los mercados bancarios europeos han cambiado después de tres importantes eventos de crisis durante el período comprendido entre enero de 2006 y marzo de 2013. La crisis financiera global se ha caracterizado por un efecto spillover unidireccional de los shocks en volatilidad del riesgo de crédito desde el interior al exterior de la Eurozona. Por el contrario, la crisis de deuda de la Eurozona se revela como una crisis de naturaleza local con el euro como elemento clave, lo que deja de manifiesto la existencia de una fragmentación del mercado entre los países periféricos más castigados por la crisis y los países del centro de la Eurozona con menores dificultades, mientras que por otro lado, mantener la moneda local ha actuado como cortafuegos. Estos resultados arrojan luz sobre el impacto del riesgo de crédito bancario en Europa para diferentes estados de crisis financieras.
Open Access
A systematic review of sovereign connectedness on emerging economies
(Elsevier, 2019) Ballester Miquel, Laura; Díaz Mendoza, Ana Carmen; González Urteaga, Ana; Enpresen Kudeaketa; Institute for Advanced Research in Business and Economics - INARBE; Gestión de Empresas
This article systematically reviews the academic literature on emerging market contagion in order to summarize what we have learnt about the transmission channels existing in these countries. Given the large body of academic research focused on this topic, we especially direct our attention to the strand of the literature that defines and empirically analyses this topic as the significant increase in the cross-market correlations between asset returns during crisis periods or when a shock occurs. The survey covers the findings on financial contagion in the stock, bond, exchange and credit default swap markets during a large period that covers several crises that have characterized the related literature, such as the currency crises of the 1990s, the global financial crisis and the Eurozone debt crisis. Finally, new topics are identified, serving as an outline for future research.
Open Access
Lagged accuracy in credit-risk measures
(Elsevier, 2022) Abinzano Guillén, María Isabel; González Urteaga, Ana; Muga Caperos, Luis Fernando; Sánchez Alegría, Santiago; Institute for Advanced Research in Business and Economics - INARBE
This paper analyzes the magnitude (accuracy) and length (time) of the lag in the incorporation of new information in different measures of credit risk. The results, for US firms, show a lag for Altman’s Z accounting measure and credit rating. In contrast, market-based credit-risk measures such as CDSs and the Black-Scholes-Merton model show no lag. This paper also analyzes the determinants of the lags found showing the importance of the informativeness of CDSs in reducing the lag for all types of default events, and a negative relationship between accounting manipulation and the lag of Altman’s Z for severe default events.
Open Access
Green bond issuance and credit risk: international evidence
(Elsevier, 2024) Ballester Miquel, Laura; González Urteaga, Ana; Shen, L.; Gestión de Empresas; Enpresen Kudeaketa; Institute for Advanced Research in Business and Economics - INARBE; Universidad Pública de Navarra / Nafarroako Unibertsitate Publikoa, PJUPNA2023-11379
We present the first empirical study of the impact of corporate green bond issuance announcements on issuer credit risk, as measured by their CDS spreads. We use a broad international sample of 1,048 green bonds issued between 2013 and 2022 by 200 entities from 26 countries. Our analysis reveals a significant, though not uniform, reaction in the CDSs. The sector of activity emerges as a critical determinant, particularly with respect to environmental exposure. While sectors highly exposed to environmental risk exhibit a reduction in issuer credit risk, all others, especially financial entities, react in the opposite direction. Our study highlights that the impact on credit risk is influenced by several other factors, including the issuer's overall ESG score, its E score, and various country-level metrics such as development level, environmental performance and political rights. We also identify other factors that affect credit risk, such as green bond ratings and operating cash flow.
Open Access
Spillover dynamics effects between risk-neutral equity and treasury volatilities
(Springer, 2022) González Urteaga, Ana; Nieto, Belén; Rubio, Gonzalo; Enpresen Kudeaketa; Institute for Advanced Research in Business and Economics - INARBE; Gestión de Empresas; Universidad Pública de Navarra / Nafarroako Unibertsitate Publikoa
Macro-finance asset pricing models provide a rationale for connectedness dynamics between equity and Treasury risk-neutral volatilities. In this paper, we study the total and directional connectedness, in the sense of spillover effects, between risk-neutral volatilities from the equity and Treasury markets. In addition, we analyze the economic and monetary drivers of connectedness dynamics. Most of the time, but especially during bad economic times, we find significant net spillovers from Treasury to equity risk-neutral volatility. The spillover channel between risk-neutral volatilities arises mainly through the government fixed income market.
Open Access
The joint cross-sectional variation of equity returns and volatilities
(Elsevier, 2017) González Urteaga, Ana; Rubio Irigoyen, Gonzalo; Gestión de Empresas; Enpresen Kudeaketa
This paper analyzes the determinants of the simultaneous cross-sectional variation of return and volatility risk premia. Independently of the model specification employed, the estimated risk premium associated with the default premium beta is always positive and statistically different from zero. Moreover, the risk premium of the market volatility risk premium beta is negative and statistically significant. However, both risk factors are priced economically and statistically differently in the volatility and return segments of the market. On average, common factors in both segments explain 90% of the variability of volatility risk premium portfolios, but only 65% of the variability of equity return portfolios.
Open Access
The quality premium with leverage and liquidity constraints
(Elsevier, 2021) González Urteaga, Ana; Rubio Irigoyen, Gonzalo; Enpresen Kudeaketa; Institute for Advanced Research in Business and Economics - INARBE; Gestión de Empresas; Universidad Pública de Navarra / Nafarroako Unibertsitate Publikoa
This research analyzes the causes of the quality premium, one of the most intriguing and successful investment strategies in equity markets. While previous research has argued that psychological biases explain the performance of the quality minus junk factor, our paper analyzes a leverage constraint explanation within a rational risk-based framework. The quality factor is multidimensional in nature, which suggests that a combination of risk, frictions, and behavioral biases is a reasonable explanation. Once we incorporate margin requirements and liquidity restrictions, we find that tighter conditions result in a higher intercept and a lower slope for the empirically implemented capital asset pricing model when using 10 quality-sorted portfolios. Our paper shows that, indeed, not only behavioral biases explain quality, but also market frictions account for its performance.
Open Access
Bank fragility and contagion: evidence from the bank CDS market
(Elsevier, 2016) Ballester Miquel, Laura; Casu, Barbara; González Urteaga, Ana; Gestión de Empresas; Enpresen Kudeaketa
Understanding how contagion works among financial institutions is a top priority for regulators and policy makers who aim to foster financial stability and to prevent financial crises. Using bank credit default swap (CDS) data, we provide a framework for the evaluation of contagion among banks in different countries and regions during a period of prolonged financial distress. We measure contagion in terms of return spillovers, following a Generalized VAR (GVAR) approach. In addition, we propose an innovative framework to distinguish between two types of contagion: systematic (linked to global factors), and idiosyncratic (linked to bank specific factors). We find evidence of both types of contagion, although the spillover dynamics changed over time. Our measure of systematic contagion is always greater than the idiosyncratic component, thus highlighting the importance of common factors in the propagation of risk spillovers. This indicates that international linkages among banking markets are central to the transmission of shocks.
Open Access
When is environmental performance most valued?: international evidence from the CDS market
(Elsevier, 2025-03-17) Ballester Miquel, Laura; González Urteaga, Ana; Martínez García, Beatriz; Gestión de Empresas; Enpresen Kudeaketa; Institute for Advanced Research in Business and Economics - INARBE; Universidad Pública de Navarra / Nafarroako Unibertsitate Publikoa
Using a sample of 516 firms with CDS data from 37 countries for the period 2010-2022, this study finds that companies with higher environmental performance, particularly in emissions reduction and product innovation, exhibit a reduction in credit risk, supporting the risk mitigation perspective. Our results also highlight the importance of considering both internal and external factors when assessing the financial impact of sustainability initiatives. Firms with initially lower environmental performance, less exposure to the environmental sector, and higher credit ratings experience a more significant reduction in credit risk as they improve their environmental performance. In addition, the CDS market places a higher value on environmental efforts for firms located in countries with lower environmental scores, credit ratings and GDP growth. Conversely, out findings support the overinvestment view for firms in sectors with high environmental risk exposure or in countries with poor climate change performance. Overall, the effect of a firm's environmental performance on credit risk is heterogeneous rather than uniform.