Raising Capital Using Monthly Income Preferred Stock: Market Reaction and Implications for Capital Structure Theory

We examine the impact of selling Monthly Income Preferred Stock (MIPS) on the common share prices of the issuing firms. We find that issuing MIPS to retire preferred stock raises the value of the firm, and that government policy can significantly affect the present value of the tax savings. Using proceeds to retire bank loans negatively impacts common share value. This negative response is larger for MIPS users with lower credit ratings on their senior debt. These findings support the view that banks perform a valuable monitoring service, which, if removed, can invoke an adverse market reaction.