Investors' Risk Perception of Automobile Abs After Implementation of Major Accounting Disclosure Requirements

Abstract

The purpose of this research paper is to analyze risk perceptions related to newly issued ABS (Asset Backed Securities) specifically Automobile loans after adoptions of accounting disclosures regulations. We focused to examine the impact of SFAS (Statement of Financial Accounting Standard) 140 on newly issued ABS Auto loan to assess whether the spreads were lower after SFAS 140 adoption. In this study we regressed the Auto loan ABS spread before and after implementation of SFAS 140 against disclosure variables (Weighted average life and projected loss disclosures) and several control variables. The results suggest that the required disclosures provide useful information to investors in evaluating risks associated with ABS automobile loan as reflected in lower spreads after SFAS 140 adoption. The results further suggest that investors ascribe more importance to the disclosure of weighted average life as compared to projected losses.