Green Credit Policy and Short-Term Financing for Long-Term Investment: Evidence from China’s Heavily Polluting Enterprises

Abstract

In 2012, China issued the “Green Credit Guidelines” policy to guide the green transformation of companies, and at the same time, the investment and financing behaviors of heavy polluters during the green transition have received widespread attention. In the view of the investment and financing maturity structure, we take China’s A-share listed enterprises from 2009 to 2021 assamples, and construct a difference-in-differences (DID) model to examine the implication of the green credit policy on the short-term financing for long-term investment (SFLI) of heavy polluters. We found that: (1) green credit policy can reduce the level of SFLI of heavy polluters; (2) the size of short-term debt and the level of over-investment can play a mediating effect, and government subsidies can weaken the relationship between green credit policy and SFLI; (3) this effect is more significant when directors, supervisors, or senior executives have a financial institution background. (4) this effect is not significant in enterprises with bank-firm shareholding relationships and a stronger innovation intensity; (5) the effect is more significant in areas with stronger environmental regulations. This paper argues that heavily polluting enterprises should reduce short-term debt financing and over-investment, so, to solve the problem of investment and financing term mismatch under the credit risk; banks should prevent the credit rent-seeking problem caused by the equity association between banks and enterprises, and promote the consistency of green credit standards. The government can provide subsidies to enterprises in green transformation and strengthen the construction of regional environmental regulations in order to guide the smooth innovation and upgrading of heavy polluters. Our research expands the study of the micro-economic consequences of green credit policy, providing references for how to reduce maturity mismatch risk and guide the smooth transformation of heavy polluters from the multi-perspective of the government, banks, and enterprises, thus helping to promote companies’ smooth transit.