The cost of firms' debt financing and the global financial crisis

•We provide an assessment of the determinants of the risk premia paid by non-financial corporations on long-term bonds.•We find that in recent years the sovereign debt market turbulence has been a major driver of corporate risk.•During the sovereign crisis Italian, Spanish and Portuguese firms paid between 70 and 120 basis points of additional premium.

We provide an assessment of the determinants of the risk premium paid by non-financial corporations on long-term bonds. By looking at 5500 issues over the period 2005-2012, we find that in recent years the sovereign debt market turbulence has been a major driver of corporate risk. Compared with the three-year period 2005-2007 before the global financial crisis, in the years 2010-2012 Italian, Spanish and Portuguese firms paid on average between 70 and 120 basis points of additional premium due to the negative spillovers from the sovereign debt crisis, while German firms received a discount of 40 basis points.