is assumed to hinge solely on the best use of the firm's current assets; thus,
it is possible that a firm should be continued even when its expected future
earnings are insufficient to pay all of its future obligations.5
If (3) is the socially optimal condition for continuance and (2) is the private
profit condition, then to give private parties incentives to make socially optimal
decisions, the priority rule in bankruptcy must cause the inequality in (2) to
hold if and only if the inequality in (3) also holds. The bank has an incentive
to choose continuance too frequently if the inequality in (2) holds when the
inequality in (3) is reversed. Similarly, it has an incentive not to choose continuance
frequently enough if (2) is reversed when (3) holds. Therefore, the
condition for the bank to choose continuance only if it is socially efficient is
L = Bb + Dc or DC= Db- (4)
Any bankruptcy policy which is ex post efficient must give bondholders the
same return, regardless of the legal status of the firm.
We turn now to the efficiency effects of the APR. Since both the bank and
the bondholders could be either unsecured or secured creditors, several possibilities
are consistent with the APR. Either group could have priority over
the other, or they could have equal priority, or one group could have priority
up to the value of its collateral, but be equal or lower in priority for further
claims. We examine two possibilities here. First, we suppose that bondholders
have priority for the full amount of their claims: the me-first rule. Second, we
assume that the bank comes first for an arbitrary amount, but then it comes
after bondholders. Equal priority is treated in Section 4.
We make several further assumptions, following Bulow and Shoven (1978).
First, creditors are assumed to be risk-neutral. Second, we use a two-period
framework. Third, we characterize uncertainty by assuming that the firm's
earnings in the next period in present value terms are P + G or P - G, each
with probability 1/2. If the favorable outcome occurs, then the firm's earnings
are assumed adequate to pay off all its obligations. If the unfavorable event
occurs, then the firm is liquidated in period 2, and the priority rule comes into
play. G is referred to as the risk factor. Fourth, we assume that the same
priority rule is used, regardless of whether the firm is liquidated in period 1 or
period 2. Finally, since the firm is in a financial crisis, we assume that no
dividends are paid.
We define the following terms, representing claims on the firm:
D, = face value of bond debt due in period 1;
D, = face value of bond debt due in period 2;
R, = accrued interest on bonds due in period 1;
rD = coupon rate on bond debt;
B1 = amount due to the bank in period 1;
s current discount rate; and
C = cash in hand at period 1.