Abstract
To contribute to the small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) financing literature, this paper uses a unique sample of 492 Turkish SMEs to analyse the firm-level determinants of SME perceptions of bank financing accessibility. Logistic regression results reveal that older and relatively more innovative firms are more positive about their ability to secure bank loans, as are SMEs that have longer relationships with their oldest banks. Firms with two owners are more inclined than firms with a single owner and firms with three or more owners to perceive accessing bank loans as easy. This finding signals that although bank loan applications of firms with two owners have higher credibility than those of firms with a single owner, having more than two owners creates more complex agency problems for banks. Compared with firms incurring a loss, firms that make a profit or break even perceive it to be easier to obtain bank financing. SMEs in the service industry are more positive about accessing bank loans than are firms in manufacturing and other industries.
Highlights
Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are central to the economic development of most economies in the world
This study aims to identify the firm-level determinants of perceived bank financing accessibility for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs)
The sample is composed of firms that operate in the six Turkish cities with the largest number of SMEs
Summary
Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are central to the economic development of most economies in the world. SMEs depend on access to finance for their survival, growth and expansion. They rank the difficulty of accessing bank loans as one of the most significant challenges they face (Carbo-Valverde, Rodriguez-Fernandez, & Udell, 2016; Duygan-Bump, Levkov, & Montoriol-Garriga, 2015; Hughes, 2009; Shen, Shen, Xu, & Bai, 2009). The literature suggests that SMEs face more financing obstacles than large firms (Beck, Demirguc-Kunt, Laeven, & Maksimovic, 2006; Beck, Demirguc-Kunt, & Maksimovic, 2008; OECD, 2017; Pissarides, 1999; Wang, 2016).
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