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.
Open Access
Volatility spillovers in the European bank CDS market
(Elsevier, 2015) Alemany, Aida; Ballester Miquel, Laura; González Urteaga, Ana; Gestión de Empresas; Enpresen Kudeaketa
From the 2007 subprime crisis to the recent Eurozone debt crisis,the banking industry has experienced terrible financial instabilitywith increasing volatility levels of bank default probability. UsingEuropean CDS spreads data from January 2006 to March 2013, thispaper sheds light on the impact of three recent significant events ofcredit risk volatility transmission between, firstly, Eurozone andnon-Eurozone banks, and then between distressed peripheral andcore countries inside the Eurozone. We employ an asymmetricmultivariate BEKK model to measure cross-market volatility spil-lovers. We find that both recent crises are distinct episodes. Theglobal financial crisis that originated outside Europe is character-ized by unidirectional volatility spillovers in credit risk from insideto outside the Eurozone. By contrast, the Eurozone debt crisis isrevealed to be local in nature with the euro as the key element,suggesting a financial market fragmentation within the Eurozonebetween distressed peripheral and non-distressed core Eurozonecountries, whereas retaining the local currency has acted as afirewall.
Open Access
Transmisión del riesgo de crédito en el sector bancario Europeo: crisis subprime y deuda soberana
(Taylor & Francis, 2014) Ballester Miquel, Laura; González Urteaga, Ana; Tudela Ferrándiz, David; Gestión de Empresas; Enpresen Kudeaketa
El objetivo del presente trabajo es analizar en profundidad la transmisión del riesgo de crédito, aproximado por los CDS spreads, en el sector bancario europeo durante el periodo 2006-2012, intentando dar respuesta a diversas cuestiones: (i) ¿existe evidencia de transmisión del riesgo de crédito entre las entidades financieras europeas de la Eurozona y las que no pertenecen a dicha zona?, (ii) ¿es esta transmisión bidireccional o unidireccional?, (iii) concretamente, ¿qué países han liderado dicha transmisión?, y (iv) ¿cómo se ha visto afectada dicha transmisión con las recientes crisis financieras? Los resultados indican un cambio significativo en la transmisión del riesgo de crédito con el estallido de la crisis subprime, con un efecto notable proveniente de los bancos de la Eurozona hacia los que no pertenecen a dicha zona.
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
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
The role of internal corporate governance mechanisms on default risk: a systematic review for different institutional settings
(Elsevier, 2020) Ballester Miquel, Laura; González Urteaga, Ana; Martínez García, Beatriz; Institute for Advanced Research in Business and Economics - INARBE; Universidad Pública de Navarra / Nafarroako Unibertsitate Publikoa
Recent financial downturns, characterized by the significant failures of firms, have revealed the need to control credit risk. Latest literature has shown that weak corporate governance structures are related to high levels of default risk, leading to financial instability. In this context, we aim to summarize the literature that focuses on the role that internal corporate governance plays in the credit risk of firms, specifically considering three corporate governance components: ownership structure, board structure and financial stakeholders’ rights and relations. Additionally, we analyse whether the effectiveness of the internal mechanisms depends on particular key factors, especially the institutional setting and the type of mechanisms considered. Finally, new lines of research are identified for future research.