Wenxia Ge

• PhD
• Professor (Full) at University of Ottawa

We examine the effects of a multinational firm’s subsidiary operations in offshore financial centers (OFCs) on bank loan contracting terms. Using a propensity score matched cross-country sample of firms with and without OFC subsidiaries, we find that firms with OFC subsidiaries receive less favorable loan terms than firms without OFC subsidiaries....

We examine whether suppliers care about analyst forecasts for their customers when making trade credit decisions. Using the suspension of the 2018 New Fortune Star Analyst Contest in China as an exogenous shock and employing difference‐in‐differences analyses, we find that after the suspension of this contest, there is a significant improvement in...

This study examines how a U.S. firm’s involvement in offshore financial centers (OFCs), by setting up subsidiaries or affiliates in OFCs, is associated with audit fees. After controlling for tax aggressiveness, firm strategy, international operation, and other firm characteristics, we find that U.S. multinational enterprises (MNEs) with OFC operati...

In this study, we examine the effectiveness of the China Securities Investor Services Center (CSISC), a new minority shareholder protection mechanism promoted by the China Securities Regulatory Commission, in constraining earnings management. Employing a difference-in-differences analysis for a sample of Chinese listed companies during 2015–2017, w...

The last two decades have witnessed a growing trend of traditional onshore banks establishing affiliates and subsidiaries offshore, along with increased globalization and competition in international financial markets. We examine whether subsidiary operations in offshore financial centers (OFCs) facilitate bank risk-taking. We construct an internat...

This study examines the effect of inside debt arising from CEO compensation deferral policies on shadow banking. We construct a parsimonious model that shows that increased bank inside debt leads to increased shadow banking. Using a CEO compensation deferral policy imposed on the Chinese banking industry in 2010, we empirically test our theoretical...

This study examines the relation between country-level audit profession development (APD) and bank loan contracting around the world. Using a sample of bank loan data from 35 countries, we find that stronger APD is associated with more favorable loan terms, such as lower loan spreads, fewer covenants, and larger loan amounts. These effects are stro...

Using a sample of U.S. firms from 2003–2014, this study examines how the executive pay gap affects audit fees for firms with different levels of R&D investment and institutional ownership. Consistent with managerial power theory, we find that the executive pay gap is positively associated with audit fees, and that the positive association is attenu...

This study examines whether a firm’s subsidiary operations in offshore financial centers (OFCs) affect loan syndicate structure. We find that as borrowers engage more aggressively in operations in OFCs, lead lenders of a loan syndicate hold a larger percentage of loans to such firms and the number of lenders participating in a loan syndicate become...

This study examines whether a firm's subsidiary operations in offshore financial centers (OFCs) affect loan syndicate structure. We find that as borrowers engage more aggressively in operations in OFCs, lead lenders of a loan syndicate hold a larger percentage of loans to such firms and the number of lenders participating in a loan syndicate become...

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine how a firm’s investment behavior relates to its subsequent bank loan contracting. Design/methodology/approach – Using a sample of US firms during the period 1992-2011, the authors examine the association between overinvestment (underinvestment) and three characteristics of bank loan contracts: loan...

This study examines how a firm’s corporate social responsibility (CSR) performance is associated with the cost of its new bond issues. Using credit ratings as an ex ante cost of debt, we find that better CSR performance is associated with better credit ratings. After controlling for credit ratings, our results show that better CSR performance is as...

This study examines how a firm’s corporate social responsibility (CSR) performance is associated with the cost of its new bond issues. Using credit ratings as an ex ante cost of debt, we find that better CSR performance is associated with better credit ratings. After controlling for credit ratings, our results show that better CSR performance is as...

We investigate the effect of board governance and takeover protection on real earnings management. Four types of real earnings management are considered: sales manipulation, overproduction, the abnormal reduction of research and development (R&D) expenses, and the abnormal reduction of other discretionary expenditures. Using panel data from U.S. pu...

We examine the association between real earnings management and the cost of new bond issues of U.S. corporations. We consider three types of real earnings management: sales manipulation, overproduction, and the abnormal reduction of discretionary expenditures. We find that overproduction impairs credit ratings and that sales manipulation and overpr...

Using a sample of non-U.S. firms from 22 countries during 2003–2007, we examine the effect of firm-level governance on various features of loan contracting in the international loan market. We find that banks charge lower loan rates, offer larger and longer-maturity loans, and impose fewer restrictive covenants to better-governed firms. We also fin...

We review 31 articles in leading accounting journals that performed a logistic regression analysis for a binary dependent variable. Our review shows that many of these articles have ambiguities and errors in the presentation of the logistic regression model. We explain that incorrect presentations of the model, even in conjunction with a correct an...

Several recent North American corporate scandals have brought attention to the potential for accounting manipulations associated with related party transactions (RPTs), which have lead to a decline in perceived earnings quality. We examine the value relevance of disclosed RPTs in Chinese corporations. We focus on two types of RPTs: sales of goods a...