Effect of firm size and corruption on financial challenges of savings and loans companies: Evidence from Ghana

Abstract

Savings and loan companies have attempted to satisfy the needs of their customers by raising assets and giving them credit. The study examines the financial challenges of savings and loan companies in Ghana from 2016 to 2021. The data came from the Savings and Loans Companies database and the Bank of Ghana (BoG) database. Using panel data analysis and the Whited-Wu Index, the results show that the firm shows a consistent higher level of financial constraints of −1.7 in 2016. From 2019 to 2021, the company will have easier access to funds compared to the period between 2017 and 2018. The study shows that cash holdings and private credit have a positive influence on the financial constraints of the companies. The study also found that firm size, collateral security, corruption index, and exchange rate significantly affect the financial challenges of companies negatively. It turned out that there was no connection between Ghana's economic growth and the company's financial challenges. The absence of sufficient financing significantly affects operations and profitability for the company. It is therefore recommended that there be business realignment at the savings and loan companies in Ghana. Company realignment is mostly done to get out of lines of business with poor margins and go into lines that are more naturally financially smart and boost performance.