Determinants of Capital Structure: Evidence from the Banking Sector

Abstract

The main objective of this research is to investigate the capital structure determinants of Pakistani banks working at national and international levels. The purpose was to explore which variables influence the capital structure more. Data was gathered from the published report of the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) and Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) website from the period 2010-2019 year. Twenty-four bank reports were compiled and analyzed who work at national and international levels. Eviews software was used to analyze the data in which descriptive, covariance correlation, and regression analysis were carried through by Ordinary Least Square (OLS) method. The results show that all five independent variables have a negative relationship except firm size on leverage which could be due to the firms' nature of business. This research concluded that ROA has a substantial negative impact on leverage; as ROA increase, it will reduce the leverage. TGB has a moderate negative, and GTH and INF have a weak negative on leverage, meaning TGB, GTH, and INF increases will reduce the leverage. SZ has a weak positive impact on leverage means Size will impact positively as size increases, and it will also increase leverage.