Bank leverage choices of French SMEs: a quantile analysis
by Ramzi Benkraiem; Calin Gurau; Thi Hong Van Hoang; Amine Lahiani; Thuy Seran-Luu
International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Small Business (IJESB), Vol. 43, No. 4, 2021

Abstract: With a large sample of 24,825 firm-year observations of French SMEs in the 2003-2016 period, we investigate the drivers of bank leverage choices. A quantile regression modelling is used to consider the bank leverage distribution. This method is applied on three different sub-periods to examine the impact of the financial crisis. The results reveal that drivers of the bank leverage level vary in function of its distribution and of time. This helps explain mixed results of previous research in this field. The pecking order theory is suitable to French SMEs while performance is the most important criterion considered by banks. The highlights of the study are: 1) drivers of French SMEs' bank leverage depend on the leverage level and on time; 2) future research should consider both time and leverage distributional dimensions; 3) the pecking order theory is suitable to French SMEs; 4) the size of firms impacts the bank leverage level negatively; 5) the firm performance is the most important criterion in the decision process of banks.

Online publication date: Wed, 01-Sep-2021

The full text of this article is only available to individual subscribers or to users at subscribing institutions.

 
Existing subscribers:
Go to Inderscience Online Journals to access the Full Text of this article.

Pay per view:
If you are not a subscriber and you just want to read the full contents of this article, buy online access here.

Complimentary Subscribers, Editors or Members of the Editorial Board of the International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Small Business (IJESB):
Login with your Inderscience username and password:

Username:        Password:          Forgotten your password?

Want to subscribe?
A subscription gives you complete access to all articles in the current issue, as well as to all articles in the previous three years (where applicable). See our Orders page to subscribe.

If you still need assistance, please email subs@inderscience.com