Pricing of off-balance sheet debt: How do bond market participants use the footnote disclosures on operating leases and postretirement benefit plans?

Partha Sengupta, Zheng Wang

Research output: Journal Publications and ReviewsRGC 21 - Publication in refereed journalpeer-review

35 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

In this study, we examine whether the public debt market prices information on off-balance sheet debt arising from operating leases and postretirement plans. We find that bond-rating agencies price off-balance sheet debt arising from operating leases and the coefficient on off-balance sheet debt measure of operating leases is similar to that of capital leases on the balance sheet. Regarding postretirement benefit plans, we find that bond-rating agencies do price postretirement benefit obligations that are reported in balance sheet but do not price such obligations disclosed in footnotes. We find similar results when we examine corporate bond yields on new debt issues. © 2010 The Authors. Accounting and Finance © 2010 AFAANZ.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)787-808
JournalAccounting and Finance
Volume51
Issue number3
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Sept 2011

Research Keywords

  • Bond rating
  • Bond yield
  • Off-balance sheet financing
  • Operating leases
  • Postretirement benefits

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