Bank Priority and Strategic Debt Restructuring
Résumé
I analyze how bank priority affects distressed debt restructurings. The model assumes
that the firm has two types of creditors (a bank and a non-bank lender) and can be liquidated/
restructured at two dates. If covenants are violated, the bank has the option to
intervene immediately (early liquidation or bilateral renegotiation with the firm) or to delay
its intervention (with the perspective of late liquidation or multi-creditor renegotiation). In
this dynamic restructuring framework, I show how conflicts between creditors of different
priorities affect the order and the form of debt restructuring and how a distressed firm can
benefit from playing one class or creditor against another (senior vs. junior) to minimize its
own concessions. Depending on its initial debt structure and its expected quality, the distressed
firm can benefit or suffer from a debt structure with a senior bank and bank priority
can increase or decrease the bank’s incentive to monitor.