ESG表现影响企业债务契约吗?--来自我国A股上市公司的经验证据

Can ESC Performance Affect Debt Contracts?--Empirical Evidence from Chinese A-share Listed Companies

本文采用2009~2020年中国A股上市公司数据,实证检验了ESG表现对企业债务契约的影响。研究结果表明,ESG表现良好的企业享有更加宽松的银行债务契约,包括更大的贷款规模、更长的贷款期限以及更高的信用贷款比例。机制检验表明,ESG表现较好的企业往往具有更低的违约风险和代理成本及更高的信息透明度,有助于获取债权人信任,进而赢得更加宽松的债务契约。横截面分析显示,对于外部监督较弱的企业,ESG表现对债务契约的正向作用更加明显。上述研究结论对引导上市公司主动承担ESG责任具有一定的启示,也为银行等利益相关者及监管部门决策提供借鉴。

Based on the data of A-sharc listed companies from 2009 to 2020.this paper empirically examines the impact of corporate ESG performance on their credit contracts.Empirical results show that better ESG performance leads to more generous bank debt contracts,including larger loan sizes,longer loan maturity,and higher credit loan ratios.The analysis of the mechanism shows that better ESG performance reflects lower default risk,agency cost and information risk,which in turn leads to more generous debt contracts.The moderating effect analysis shows that the positive effect of ESG performance on bank debt contracts is more pronounced for companies with weaker external governance mechanisms.The above findings provide theoretical guidance for listed companies to take the initiative to assume ESG responsibility,and also provide references for bank stakeholders and regulators.