기업의 신용등급 변화가 자본구조결정에 미치는 영향

In this paper, we analyse empirically the effects of credit rating changes on capital structure decisions of firms listed on Korea Securities Market of Korea Exchange. The main results of this study can be summarized as follows. The credit rating changes have important effects on the subsequent capital structure decisions of firms. However, the credit rating downgrades have negative and significant effects on the subsequent capital structure change, whereas the credit rating upgrades are insignificant on it. That is, the credit rating downgrades and upgrades have asymmetric effects on the subsequent capital structure change. The credit rating downgrades have negative and significant effects on the subsequent debt issuance, and have positive and significant effects on the subsequent debt reduction, but have insignificant effects on the subsequent equity issuance and equity reduction. In particular, the firms downgraded from investment grade to speculative grade decrease their leverage ratios following debt reductions. Moreover, the capital structure adjustment speed of downgraded firms is faster than the upgraded ones. In conclusion, financial managers undertake capital structure behavior to target credit rating levels over time. This behavior is due to specific concern for the benefits of higher ratings after considering target leverage behavior. Firms are more likely to reduce debt and less likely to issue debt following a downgrade, and they are also less likely to reduce equity after a downgrade. Therefore, these results imply that managers target specific credit rating levels,and that credit ratings are considered as a important determinant of capital structure, along with tax, asymmetric information, agency, and financial distress factors.