The Global Financial Crisis and Adjustment Speed of Cash Holdings

Abstract

Cash holding is of strategic importance when access to external financing is limited. Cash retention becomes very important for companies to continue their existence, especially with external shocks. Specifically, the demand function of cash assets may change depending on the 2008-2009 Global Financial Crisis (CFC), which offers a natural experimentation opportunity. Based on the optimal cash holdings theory, this study investigates the adjustment speed of cash holdings of nonfinancial firms listed in Borsa Istanbul (BIST) before and after the GFC including the period 2003-2018. The generalized method of moments (GMM) is employed to mitigate any endogeneity problem. The findings show that firms in BIST increase the adjustment speed of cash holdings during and after the GFC using more cash stocks due to declining credit supply and rising credit costs during the GFC. As a general implication, owners and managers should determine an accurate cash holding policy for their firm by considering factors affecting corporate finance and the cost of carry cash during any uncertainty.

Keywords

• Adjustment Speed
• Global Financial Crisis (GFC)
• Cash Holdings

Küresel Finansal Kriz ve Nakit Tutma Ayarlama Hızı

Abstract

Dış finansmana erişimin sınırlı olduğu zamanlarda nakit tutma stratejik bir öneme sahip olmaktadır. Likit varlıklar, özellikle dış şoklarla birlikte firmaların varlıklarını devam ettirebilmeleri için çok önemli hale gelmektedir. Öyle ki, nakit varlıkların talep fonksiyonu, doğal bir deney imkânı sunan 2008-2009 Küresel Finansal Krizine (KFK) bağlı olarak değişebilmektedir. Optimum nakit tutma teorisine dayanan bu çalışma, KFK’den önce ve sonra Borsa İstanbul (BİST)'da işlem gören finansal olmayan firmaların nakit varlıklarının ayarlama hızını 2003-2018 zaman dilimi için incelemektedir. Herhangi bir içsellik problemini azaltmak için genelleştirilmiş momentler yöntemi (GMM) kullanılmıştır. Bulgular, BİST’teki firmaların KFK sırasında kredi arzının azalması ve dış fonlama maliyetlerinin de artmasından dolayı daha fazla nakit stoku kullanmaları neticesinde, kriz ve sonrasında nakit varlıklarının ayarlama hızının arttığını göstermektedir. Genel bir sonuç olarak, firma sahipleri ve yöneticileri, krizler gibi yüksek belirsizlik ortamlarında kurumsal finansmanı etkileyen faktörleri de göz önünde bulundurarak ve nakit tutmanın maliyetini hesaba katarak, firmaları için doğru nakit tutma politikası belirlemelidirler.

Keywords

• Ayarlama Hızı
• Küresel Finansal Kriz (KFK)
• Nakit Tutma

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