News
|

CFO gender shapes lender decisions during times of crisis

New research shows that the gender of the CFO can affect how loan terms are renegotiated in the U.S. Lenders may treat male and female CFOs differently, either because of unconscious bias or because they make assumptions based on gender rather than the individual CFO.

In her doctoral thesis, Khalela Francis focused on loan renegotiations in the U.S. during times of financial stress, specifically during the COVID-19 pandemic, and on whether the gender of the CFO affects the loan terms that companies are able to secure.

“I found that CFO gender is indeed a factor in the renegotiation pricing that occurs during stressful periods. Theory on stress suggests that higher cognitive load and time pressure can cause human beings to fall back on old biases”, Francis states. 

COVID-19 was a time of great stress and confusion. Businesses shut down, social distancing was put in place and many companies drew down their credit lines or needed renegotiations. 

"My study shows that the difference in loan terms negotiated by companies with male and female CFOs increased during the COVID-19 pandemic. The findings suggest that lenders consider more than just a company's ability to repay its loans when renegotiating lending agreements", Francis concludes.

According to Francis firms with female CFOs were charged higher loan spreads between loan origination and renegotiation during the COVID-19 pandemic. In normal times, however, the opposite was true, with firms led by female CFOs receiving more favourable loan spread terms.

While an alternative interpretation is that companies with female CFOs were seen as riskier, the study found no differences in the underlying characteristics of firms led by male and female CFOs. The findings suggest that lenders should be aware of potential differences in how they assess female CFOs during times of financial stress.

“The fact that gender seems to play a role in loan renegotiations during stressful times is fascinating because, at face value, gender shouldn’t play any role. While my research is not able to draw conclusions on why firms with female CFO receive different treatment, the findings suggest that this warrants further investigation”, Francis concludes.

You can read the whole thesis here: Essays on financial contracting

Khalela Francis will defend her thesis on 6 November 2026 at noon at Hanken School of Economics, Arkadiankatu 22, Helsinki. The doctoral defence will be held on site in auditorium Futurum and will not be available online.

Opponent: Iftekhar Hasan, professor, Fordham University
Custos: Gonul Colak, professor, Hanken School of Economics