New challenges for the economic analysis of the corporate sector

Die Verbundaktivitäten deutscher Unternehmen gewinnen seit geraumer Zeit an Bedeutung. Darin schlägt sich nieder, dass sie funktional stärker differenziert und spezialisiert sowie zunehmend internationalisiert sind. Nachdem sich die globale Arbeitsteilung geändert hat, stößt die klassische Unternehmensabschlussstatistik, die sich nur auf den inländischen Raum bezieht, an ihre Grenzen. Sowohl auf nationaler als auch auf internationaler Ebene gibt es Initiativen, die statistischen Lücken in der Darstellung des Unternehmenssektors zu schließen.Economic analyses of the corporate sector provide an important contribution to evidence-based economic policymaking. However, these analytical approaches, which are based on the separate financial statements prepared by domestic enterprises, are finding it more and more difficult to accommodate the increasingly important role which the exchange of goods and services among enterprises and the growing financial ties among group enterprises plays for economic activity in the corporate sector. Since the traditional corporate financial statement statistics can no longer paint a complete picture of the increasingly globalised nature of the German economy, the Deutsche Bundesbank recently began building up a database using data extracted from selected consolidated financial statements, as these accounts also capture the share of value added generated by external subsidiaries and affiliates of German enterprises abroad. Substantially broadening the analytical spectrum in this manner is crucially important for an open economy

Corporate Finance in Europe from 1986 to 1996

After publishing its first report in September 1997, the Own Funds Working Group, in agreement with the European Committee of Central Balance Sheet Offices, decided to continue its work in order to gain a better understanding of the differences in financing structures between countries. To this end, the Group decided firstly to broaden the review period from 1986 to 1996. The compilation of figures and ratios over a longer period is advantageous in a number of ways. It not only enables an assessment of trends in financing structures in each country, but also of any changes in the ranking of the different countries involved. Furthermore, it gives an insight into the influence of cyclical and structural factors on this ranking. The Group also set itself the objective of not only taking a closer look at the influence of institutional factors The study was based, as the previous study, on incorporated companies (partnerships and sole proprietorships are therefore excluded) of the manufacturing industry, which is uniformly defined across all the countries. Once again, five size brackets according to turnover expressed in euros are analyzed. The size-based approach is essential because the aggregate values conceal the diversity of the situations in the various countries, especially in Germany where the results are strongly influenced by large firms. The two statistical parameters used are the weighted mean and the median. Moreover, to gain a better understanding of the influence of financing needs, assets have been broken down into their main items. As previously, efforts have been made to align methodologies so that the analyses cover variables that are as homogenous as possible from country to country.corporate finance, capital structure, europe, financial systme, credit, bankrutcy

Equity of European Industriel Corporations from 1991 to 1993

Throughout the Member States of the European Union, economic policy debate has centred on the terms of corporate financing, and in particular on whether the companies of each country have sufficient equity to compete in a single market. Moreover, faced with the risk of corporate insolvency, credit institutions consider a certain equity level to be one of several indicators of creditworthiness. Given this situation and within the framework of the work of the European Committee of Central Balance Sheet Offices, Germany, Austria, Spain, France and Italy and the second General Directorate of the European Commission invited a working group , to compare the f-inancial autonomy of European industriel companies. This study covered the period 1991 to 1993 and examined several issues. Do corporate equity levels vary according to the country ? Do these levels vary according to company size, regardless of the country? Do small companies have a specific position in each country? This study is based on an évaluation of corporate solvency, given that equity is used by companies and their financial partners to control risk exposure. After a brief reminder of the role of equity, the study sums up the research conducted since the publication in 1958 of the paper by Modigliani and Miller and gives a critical analysis of the empirical findings of intenational comparisons. All such research must begin by identifying and solving the financial and statistical methodological problems inherent to comparisons of the financing conditions of different countries. The work conducted gives rise to clear conclusions. - Corporate equity levels vary from country to country. These differences are at least partially related to variations in taxation, bankruptcy regulations, the organization of the banking system, the relationship between banks and companies and the financing practices of each country. - An overall analysis is insufficient and must be complemented by an analysis by company size. - The situation of the companies in each country can not be evaluated without taking into account financial requirements. - In France, regardless of the size of the company, the share of equity in overall financial resources appears larger than in other countries. Moreover, the difference between the equity of small and medium-sized companies and that of large corporations is narrower than in Germany or Austria. It should also be noted that this company classification is relatively recent in France.

Die Rolle der Bankkredite im Finanzierungsspektrum der deutschen Wirtschaft

In den letzten zwei Jahren wurde von vielen eine Kreditklemme für die deutschen Unternehmen als reales Problem, oder zumindest als akutes makroökonomisches Risiko, angesehen. Die vorliegende Untersuchung anhand der Bilanzdaten aus dem Jahresabschlussdatenpool der Deutschen Bundesbank macht allerdings deutlich, dass solche Krisenszenarien der Breite der deutschen Unternehmensfinanzierung nicht angemessen Rechnung tragen und damit den Stellenwert des Bankkredits für die Realwirtschaft teilweise überschätzen. Die Bankverschuldung der Unternehmen war überdies während der Finanzmarktkrise relativ stabil, während Handelskredite und konzerninterne Finanzierungen stärker zurückgingen

Structures of Corporate Finance in Germany and France - A Comparative Analysis for West German and French incorporated Enterprises

The study examines the balance sheet structures of both French and west German incorporated firms in manufacturing and their evolution during the last business cycle in the late eighties and early nineties. The point of departure is to focus on the relative importance of the different financing sources used by the incorporated enterprises in the two countries. A deeper examination of the observed differences suggests that country-specific legal and institutional factors seem to play an important role in determining corporate finance structures. Finally this evidence is considered in the context of capital structure theory with particular reference to the architecture and functioning mechanisms of the corporate financing systems in Germany and France.Corporate finance, capital structure, financial systems, legal and institutional factors