Abstract
This study investigates the effect of shadow bank leverage on corporate bond returns. Using a unique dataset of Wealth Management Products (WMPs), we construct a new measurement of shadow leverage in the Chinese banking system. We find that the sensitivity of bond returns to the risk of shadow leverage has a negative effect on corporate bond returns. We propose a new three-factor bond pricing model by adding the factor of shadow leverage risk into the traditional two-factor model of Fama and French (1993. “Common Risk Factors in the Returns on Stocks and Bonds.” Journal of Financial Economics 33: 3–56). A comprehensive empirical analysis shows that the proposed model fits corporate bond returns well and outperforms the two-factor bond pricing model, both in- and out-of-samples. Specifically, the shadow leverage risk factor makes greater marginal contributions in lower credit rating groups and more shadow leverage-sensitive groups. Overall, we highlight the importance of shadow banks in the role of asset pricing.
Acknowledgements
We are grateful to two anonymous referees and the editor for their valuable comments and suggestions.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).
Notes
1 We provide an overview of WMPs in the Chinese market in Appendix A1.
2 We provide an introduction to the Chinese bond market in Appendix A2.