Financing of brazilian companies during financial crises: Comparative between the crises of 2002, 2008 and 2015

Abstract

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to verify the financing decisions by Brazilian companies in the financial crises of 2002, 2008 and 2015, and to identify the impacts of these crises, as well as the influence of the funding sources - banking, subsidized sources and capital markets - on the leverage and maturity of companies' debts in these periods. Originality/value: Crises establish opportunities for the study of determining factors and their impacts on companies. There is no empirical evidence on the impacts of crises on the capital structure of Brazilian companies taking into account the comparison between the crises of 2002, 2008 and 2015, which motivated the present study. Design/methodology/approach: We performed descriptive analyzes and estimated regressions by panel data. Findings: The results showed a statistically positive relationship between financial crises and corporate leverage, as well as short and long-term debt. With regard to leverage, banking resources, resources from capital and subsidized markets showed a statistically positive relationship with the level of leverage of companies only in the 2008 crisis. Considering the maturity of debts, the 2002 crisis was an important determinant for companies' short-term debt decisions, in view of the predominant participation of banking resources at that time. Financing sources were important in determining companies' long-term indebtedness in the 2008 crisis.