| Peer-Reviewed

Synopsis of the Determinants of the Choice of a Financial Structure of French Industrial and Commercial Groups

Received: 17 August 2021    Accepted: 27 August 2021    Published: 31 August 2021
Views:       Downloads:
Abstract

Belonging to a group modifies the financing conditions of the firms concerned. Thus, we observe that the conditions of access to the financial markets are modified by the very fact of belonging to a group whose financial surface is the most easily identifiable; the interest rates on the loans themselves are less high for these companies. Their dependence on the banking system also appears to be less clear-cut, as the group's head company is able to pass on loans negotiated on favourable terms to certain units within the group. With regard to the level of debt alone, there is often reference to a higher level of debt in groups, based on the chain accounting of the same asset, first as fixed assets and then as equity securities. This last point raises the question of the choice of relevant levels of aggregation for measuring financial variables. Until now, most studies have been based on data from the company accounts. However, the consolidated financial statements provide a better assessment of the financial situation of these groups, in particular by eliminating fully or proportionally consolidated investments. In order to gain a better understanding of the level of indebtedness of a group, it is more appropriate to use the consolidated financial statements to eliminate cross-financing for companies included in the scope of consolidation. Using such data, we can observe real divergences with the results of studies on corporate accounts, which show more favorable borrowing conditions, slightly lower levels of debt and a clear decrease in the use of borrowing in the financing resources for the period 2017-2020, with a domination of self-financing. These divergences can also be observed when comparing the debt levels of companies in different countries where the practice of consolidation is more or less widespread. The main objective of this article is to present the results, obtained from a sample of consolidated accounts of French industrial and commercial groups, of a modeling of debt levels put in perspective with modern financial theory, in that it proposes conceptual candidates explaining current developments.

Published in Journal of Finance and Accounting (Volume 9, Issue 4)
DOI 10.11648/j.jfa.20210904.17
Page(s) 172-181
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Group, Indebtedness, Financing, Interest Rates, Consolidated Accounts, Corporate Accounts, Profitability

References
[1] AMAR M. and THOLLON-POMMEROL V., 1989, "Les groupes et la déformation du système productif français 1974-1980-1986", INSEF - Journées Centrales des bilans 1989, 61 pages.
[2] ANGELO (de) H. and MASULIS R., 1980, "Optimal Capital Structure under Corporate and Personal Taxation", Journal of Financial Economics, March, pp. 3-29.
[3] BATSCH L., 1992, "Aspects financiers et stratégiques des politiques de recentrage des groupes industriels en France", Doctoral thesis from the University of Paris-Dauphine.
[4] BEAU D., 1990, "Les influences de l'appartenance à un groupe sur les structures et les résultats des entreprises industrielles françaises", Analyse financière, 4th quarter.
[5] BIAIS B., HILLION P. and MALECOT J. F., 1991, "The Capital Structure of French Corporation: an empirical investigation", International Capital Structure symposium UCLA, July, 34 p.
[6] Brounen D., Jong (de) A., Koedijk K., "Corporate Finance in Europe: confronting theory with practice", Financial Management, vol. 33, n°4, 2004, pp. 167-184.
[7] Chadefaux M., Les fusions des sociétés: Régimes juridiques et fiscal, 8th edition, Groupe Revue Fiduciaire, 2016.
[8] Cathiard C. Lecourt A., La pratique du droit européen des sociétés. Comparative analysis of cross-border structures and mergers, Joly Editions, 2nd edition, 2017.
[9] CHARASSON-JASSON Hélène, "the growing recourse of large French groups to debt: a financing strategy that shows its limits, Bulletin de la Banque de France n°226-4, November 2019.
[10] Chava S., Purnanandam A., "Determinant of the floating-to- fixed rate debt structure of firms", Journal of Financial Economics, vol. 85, n°3, September 2007, pp 5-18.
[11] COMMISSION DES OPERATIONS DE BOURSE, 1991, 1992, "Rapports au Président de la République".
[12] DIETSCH M., JACQUILLAT B. ET PIETRI R., 1986, Le crédit interentreprises: un financement de troisième type, Publication de l'Institut La Boétie, 38 p.
[13] Denis D., Mihov V., "The Choice among bank debt, non-bank private debt and public debt: evidence form new corporate barrowings", Journal of Financial Economics, January 2003, n°1, vol. 70, pp 3-28.
[14] DIETSCH M., 1990, "Le crédit interentreprises: coûts et avantages", Economie et Statistique, pp. 65-79.
[15] DUBOIS M., 1985, "Les déterminants de la structure financière des entreprises", Finance, p. 41-70.
[16] FAZZARI S., HUBBARD R. G. and PETERSEN B. C., 1988, "Financing constraints and corporate investment", Brookings papers on economic activity, p. 141-206.
[17] Fernandez P., Évaluation et bon sens, 7e édition, 2019 à télécharger sur ssrn.com.
[18] HARRIS M. et RAVIV A., 1991, "The theory of capital structure", Journal of Finance, mars, p. 297-355.
[19] HARRIS M. et RAVIV A., 1990, "Capital structure and the informational role of debt", Journal of Finance, June, p. 321-349.
[20] HAUGEN R. A. et SEMBET L. W., 1978, "The insignificance of bankruptcy costs to the theory of optimal capital structure", Journal of Finance, p. 383-349.
[21] Hege U., Lovo S., Slovin M., " Equity and cash in intercorporate asset sales: theory and evidence ", Review of Financial Studies, february 2009, vol. 22, n°2, pp. 681-714.
[22] Holland D., "An improved method for valuing mature companies and estimating terminal value ", Journal of Applied Corporate Finance, vol. 30, n°1, 2018, pp. 70-77.
[23] JENSEN M. et MECKLING W. H., 1976, "Theory of the firm, managerial behavior, agency costs and ownership structure", Journal of Financial Economics, n°3, p. 305-360.
[24] LAET (DE) J. P., 1991, "Le contrôle communautaire des concentrations", Notes et Etudes Documentaires, n° 4926, pp 161- 170, Documentation Française.
[25] Krishaswami S., Subramaniam V., "information asymmetry, valuation and corporate spin-off decision", Journal of Financial Economics, vol. 53, n°1, 1999, pp. 73-112.
[26] Lonnidou V., Ongena S., "Time for a change: loan conditions and bank behavior when firms switch banks", Journal of Finance, octobre 2010, vol. 65, n°5, pp. 1847-1877.
[27] MALECOT J. F., 1991, "Les déterminants du choix d'une structure financière: le cas des groupes industriels et commerciaux", Caisse des Dépôts /COREF, Journées centrales des bilans, 50 p.
[28] MALECOT J. F., 1992 a, "Liquidation, Redressement judiciaires et taux de recouvrement des créances", Cahier du CEREG, n°9205.
[29] MALECOT J. F., 1992 b. "Comptes consolidés et situation financière des groupes industriels et commerciaux", Cahier du CEREG, n°9203.
[30] MALECOT J. F., 1992 c, "Les déterminants du choix d'une structure financière des groupes industriels et commerciaux", Cahier de Recherches du CEREG, n°9212.
[31] MALECOT J. F., 1992 d, "Modelling behavioral dividend policy using company account panel data" - in Econometrics of panel data, Kluwer L., Mathyas P., Sevestre éditeurs.
[32] MILLER M. H., 1988, "The Modigliani-Miller propositions after thirty years", Journal of Economic Perspectives, 2, p. 99-120.
[33] M0RIN F., 1991, "L'émergence d'un appareil productif européen". Notes et Etudes Documentaires, p. 17-36.
[34] MYERS S. C. et MAJLUF, 1984, "Corporate financing and investment decisions when firms have information that investors do not have", Journal of Financial Economics, p. 187-221.
[35] OHANA K., 1990, Les banques de groupe, PUF.
[36] PAULET Elisabeth, " La structure financière des entreprises en Europe: une investigation empirique de la neutralité du bilan, dans Economie et Prévisions, n°157, volume 1, 2003, p. 71-82.
[37] REMOLONA E. M., 1990, "Understanding international differences in leverage trends", Federal Reserve Bank of New York Quarterly Review, Spring, p. 31-42.
[38] RICHARD J., SIMONS P. et BAILLY J. M., 1988, Comptabilité et analyse financière des groupes, Economica.
[39] Robert Obert, Le Petit IFRS 2020, Dunod, 11e édition, février 2020.
[40] THOLLON-POMMEROL V., 1990, "Les groupes et la déformation du système productif", Economie et statistique, février, p. 21-28.
[41] TITMAN S., 1984, "The effect of capital structure on a firm's liquidation decision", Journal of Financial Economics, 13, p. 137-151.
[42] Vernimmen P., Finance d'entreprise, Dalloz, 19e édition, 2021, 1198 pages.
Cite This Article
  • APA Style

    Assoumou Menye Oscar. (2021). Synopsis of the Determinants of the Choice of a Financial Structure of French Industrial and Commercial Groups. Journal of Finance and Accounting, 9(4), 172-181. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.jfa.20210904.17

    Copy | Download

    ACS Style

    Assoumou Menye Oscar. Synopsis of the Determinants of the Choice of a Financial Structure of French Industrial and Commercial Groups. J. Finance Account. 2021, 9(4), 172-181. doi: 10.11648/j.jfa.20210904.17

    Copy | Download

    AMA Style

    Assoumou Menye Oscar. Synopsis of the Determinants of the Choice of a Financial Structure of French Industrial and Commercial Groups. J Finance Account. 2021;9(4):172-181. doi: 10.11648/j.jfa.20210904.17

    Copy | Download

  • @article{10.11648/j.jfa.20210904.17,
      author = {Assoumou Menye Oscar},
      title = {Synopsis of the Determinants of the Choice of a Financial Structure of French Industrial and Commercial Groups},
      journal = {Journal of Finance and Accounting},
      volume = {9},
      number = {4},
      pages = {172-181},
      doi = {10.11648/j.jfa.20210904.17},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.jfa.20210904.17},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.jfa.20210904.17},
      abstract = {Belonging to a group modifies the financing conditions of the firms concerned. Thus, we observe that the conditions of access to the financial markets are modified by the very fact of belonging to a group whose financial surface is the most easily identifiable; the interest rates on the loans themselves are less high for these companies. Their dependence on the banking system also appears to be less clear-cut, as the group's head company is able to pass on loans negotiated on favourable terms to certain units within the group. With regard to the level of debt alone, there is often reference to a higher level of debt in groups, based on the chain accounting of the same asset, first as fixed assets and then as equity securities. This last point raises the question of the choice of relevant levels of aggregation for measuring financial variables. Until now, most studies have been based on data from the company accounts. However, the consolidated financial statements provide a better assessment of the financial situation of these groups, in particular by eliminating fully or proportionally consolidated investments. In order to gain a better understanding of the level of indebtedness of a group, it is more appropriate to use the consolidated financial statements to eliminate cross-financing for companies included in the scope of consolidation. Using such data, we can observe real divergences with the results of studies on corporate accounts, which show more favorable borrowing conditions, slightly lower levels of debt and a clear decrease in the use of borrowing in the financing resources for the period 2017-2020, with a domination of self-financing. These divergences can also be observed when comparing the debt levels of companies in different countries where the practice of consolidation is more or less widespread. The main objective of this article is to present the results, obtained from a sample of consolidated accounts of French industrial and commercial groups, of a modeling of debt levels put in perspective with modern financial theory, in that it proposes conceptual candidates explaining current developments.},
     year = {2021}
    }
    

    Copy | Download

  • TY  - JOUR
    T1  - Synopsis of the Determinants of the Choice of a Financial Structure of French Industrial and Commercial Groups
    AU  - Assoumou Menye Oscar
    Y1  - 2021/08/31
    PY  - 2021
    N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.jfa.20210904.17
    DO  - 10.11648/j.jfa.20210904.17
    T2  - Journal of Finance and Accounting
    JF  - Journal of Finance and Accounting
    JO  - Journal of Finance and Accounting
    SP  - 172
    EP  - 181
    PB  - Science Publishing Group
    SN  - 2330-7323
    UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.jfa.20210904.17
    AB  - Belonging to a group modifies the financing conditions of the firms concerned. Thus, we observe that the conditions of access to the financial markets are modified by the very fact of belonging to a group whose financial surface is the most easily identifiable; the interest rates on the loans themselves are less high for these companies. Their dependence on the banking system also appears to be less clear-cut, as the group's head company is able to pass on loans negotiated on favourable terms to certain units within the group. With regard to the level of debt alone, there is often reference to a higher level of debt in groups, based on the chain accounting of the same asset, first as fixed assets and then as equity securities. This last point raises the question of the choice of relevant levels of aggregation for measuring financial variables. Until now, most studies have been based on data from the company accounts. However, the consolidated financial statements provide a better assessment of the financial situation of these groups, in particular by eliminating fully or proportionally consolidated investments. In order to gain a better understanding of the level of indebtedness of a group, it is more appropriate to use the consolidated financial statements to eliminate cross-financing for companies included in the scope of consolidation. Using such data, we can observe real divergences with the results of studies on corporate accounts, which show more favorable borrowing conditions, slightly lower levels of debt and a clear decrease in the use of borrowing in the financing resources for the period 2017-2020, with a domination of self-financing. These divergences can also be observed when comparing the debt levels of companies in different countries where the practice of consolidation is more or less widespread. The main objective of this article is to present the results, obtained from a sample of consolidated accounts of French industrial and commercial groups, of a modeling of debt levels put in perspective with modern financial theory, in that it proposes conceptual candidates explaining current developments.
    VL  - 9
    IS  - 4
    ER  - 

    Copy | Download

Author Information
  • Department “Finance and Accounting”, ESSEC of the Douala University, Douala, Cameroon

  • Sections