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Using a unique proprietary dataset from a large European commercial bank containing granular loan-level information on credit lines to mid-corporate firms, we investigate the bank's decisions to allow firms to retain existing credit at a time of acute financial instability. Our results highlight the importance of bank-firm relationships during crisis times. Existing borrowers who actively used their credit lines were not rationed, unless they posed an increased credit risk. We do not find evidence of evergreening practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examined how agricultural sector performance will be enhanced in Nigeria through access to credit. The study engaged a time series data sourced from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) statistical bulletin and the World Development Indicators (WDI) of the World Bank for the period 198–2018. The Autoregressive Distribution Lag (ARDL) method was used in the analysis. Results showed that agricultural credit proxied by agricultural credit guarantee scheme fund (ACGSF) and commercial bank credit to agriculture significantly increased agricultural performance by 10.30% and 17.05% respectively. Also, other explanatory variables included in the model (arable land and agricultural employment) tend to increase agricultural performance by 65.51% and 12.40% respectively. Based on findings, the study recommended that farmers should be provided with sufficient access to credit which will enhance their ability to purchase agricultural inputs required to increase productivity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates whether access to credit affects migration intentions. Using Gallup survey data for the years 2009 and 2010 for 17 African countries, we document a negative link between the ability to borrow and the desire to migrate. Being able to borrow reduces the likelihood of reporting wanting to migrate, especially for those with some education, those with lower income, for individuals with a bank account, and for those who feel their assets are safe. To deal with endogeneity, we assume that migration desire is driven by borrowing which in turn is determined by access to financial services. Therefore, we estimate a two-equation system for migration and borrowing, using variables describing access to financial services as instruments. We verify our findings using identification through heteroscedasticity and using a geographical instrument. Our results indicate that efforts to increase credit access in developing economies can cement residents' attachment to their home country. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We test how bank market power affects firms' access to credit using a bank-firm database on five European countries. Results indicate that firms served by high-market power banks obtain less credit, rely more on trade credit and face higher funding costs relative to other firms. Furthermore, the effect of bank market power is nonlinear and heterogeneous across firms. First, the effect of market power is larger for poorly collateralized firms. Second, market power is associated to worse credit conditions only beyond considerable levels of concentration. Overall, our findings suggest that concentration worsens corporate credit conditions, especially for informationally opaque firms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We interviewed 379 bank CEOs in 20 emerging markets to identify their banks' main competitors. We show that banks are more likely to identify another bank as a main competitor in small-business lending when both banks are foreign owned or relationship oriented; when there exists a large spatial overlap in their branch networks and when the potential competitor has fewer hierarchical layers. We then construct a novel bilateral competition measure at the locality level and assess how well it explains geographic variation in firms' credit constraints. We show that intense bilateral bank competition tightens local credit constraints, especially for small firms, as competition may impede the formation of lending relationships. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The object of the study is monetary processes and the real sector of the economy. The purpose of the study is to analyze the impact of monetary processes in the economy on GDP based on a systematic approach. The task of analyzing the relationship between the main indicators of monetary processes and GDP on the basis of a wide sample of countries was solved. The results are obtained: – for the variables included in the cluster analysis, the money supply analyzed: (1st cluster “stable financial environment” – 0, 2nd cluster “high access to credit” – 147.7, 3rd cluster “limited access to credit” – 72.2, 4th cluster “high interest rates” – 30.4 % of GDP); – 72 countries are divided into 4 clusters, with 13 countries in the first cluster, 15 in the second, 21 in the third, and 23 in the fourth. This allows to determine the nature and place of the economy in the world and to make monetary policy decisions; – there is a positive correlation between GDP and money supply (r=0.317); there is a weak positive relationship between GDP and the credit information depth index (r=0.203); there is a moderate positive relationship between GDP and domestic lending (r=0.39). Money supply management and domestic credit should be prioritized in monetary management of the economy. The obtained results are explained by the assumption of linear dependence between the indicators of monetary processes and the real sector of the economy. This assumption was confirmed on the example of different countries, which indicates its universality. The peculiarities of the results obtained are the application of a combination of cluster and correlation and regression methods of analysis using actual World Bank data [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Anchored on the economies of scale of production theory, this study utilized Nigeria's firm-level enterprise survey data of the World Bank collected through stratified random sampling of 2 676 firms and face-to-face interviews with the application of the multinomial logit model to examine how enterprise productivity influences the size of firms in Nigeria. It was found that raising enterprise productivity relates to about 0.0009261 insignificant fall in the relative log odds of running micro-sized firms, about 0.010299 significant rise in relative log odds of having medium-sized firms, and about 0.0201428 significant encouragement in relative log odds of running large-sized enterprises/firms when related with small-sized enterprises/firms. It is recommended that governments at all levels (state, federal, and local), should encourage micro-sized firms in a bid to make them increase their productivity level. This encouragement can come in the form of providing increased access to credit, the provision of raw material inputs, and constant electricity supplies. The original contribution of this research work is hinged on its empirical contribution in the study area since there is dearth of literature in the study area as no study has looked at firm size and enterprise productivity in Nigeria using evidence from firm-level data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article studies how the rise of financial technology (Fintech) lending affects credit access, interest rates, and social welfare. We consider a lending competition model with two incumbent banks and a Fintech lender, which use different information and technologies to assess borrower creditworthiness. We show that Fintech lending could negatively affect high-quality borrowers' access to credit when the Fintech lender's screening accuracy is superior to that of the banks. Furthermore, Fintech lending may worsen the allocative efficiency of credit and reduce social welfare under some conditions. Analytical and numerical results suggest that Fintech lending mostly reduces the expected interest rates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The literature on the effects of bank market power on access to credit has produced many results that are sometimes contradictory. Yet, all of these studies are based on unconsolidated data that ignore the national market power of banking groups. This results in an underestimation bias that this paper proposes to correct. Using a panel of more than 55,000 French firms covering the period 2006–2017, I consider a set of structural and non-structural measures of bank market power both at the unconsolidated and consolidated levels. My results strongly support the market power hypothesis which emphasizes the virtues of competition on interest rate setting. I find that bank market power increases the interest rate charged, but only when using my consolidated measures. This effect is stronger for small and risky firms and is concentrated on long-term loans. My findings highlight the need to take into account the capital linkages of subsidiaries within the same banking group in order to fully assess the implications of bank market power. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigate whether improvements in banks' organizational capital and control systems facilitate increased loan origination to minority borrowers. We focus on bank supervisors' enforcement decisions and orders (EDOs) against banks and hypothesize that EDO‐imposed improvements in loan policies, internal governance, and employee training mitigate deficiencies in credit assessments and lending decisions that previously disadvantaged minority borrowers. We find that mortgage origination to minority borrowers increases following the resolution of EDOs, and more so for banks with stricter supervisors or more severe EDOs. Using a semisupervised machine learning method to analyze the text of EDOs, we find that such increases are higher for EDOs specifying revisions of loan policies, implementation of formal internal governance procedures, or more employee training. Overall, we find that EDO‐driven improvements in organizational capital generate unintended, positive social externalities that enhance access to credit for minority borrowers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Environmental & Social Management Journal / Revista de Gestão Social e Ambiental is the property of Environmental & Social Management Journal and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

A large-scale microcredit expansion program—together with a credit bureau accessible to all lenders—can enable unbanked borrowers to build a credit history, facilitating their transition to commercial banks. Loan-level data from Rwanda show the program improved access to credit and reduced poverty. A sizable share of first-time borrowers switched to commercial banks, which cream-skim less risky borrowers and grant them larger, cheaper, and longer-maturity loans. Switchers have lower default risk than nonswitchers and are not riskier than other bank borrowers. Switchers also obtain better loan terms from banks compared with first-time bank borrowers without a credit history. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The design of effective policies that increase access to agricultural credit should consider understanding credit constraint farmers' groups and their response to changes in the credit conditions. To contribute to this understanding, this study surveyed farmers from Chile and classified them into five credit constraint categories discussed in credit literature. In addition, these farmers indicated how they would react to a series of hypothetical conditions related to changing interest rates, loan maturity and grace periods. Their responses were employed to measure credit demand scores (i.e. relative elasticities). Regression tests evaluated how different types of farmers reacted to changing credit conditions. Design/methodology/approach: Farmers from Chile were surveyed using a mix of random and convenience sampling. Surveyed farmers were classified into five credit constraint categories proposed by previous research. Farmers rated their demand for credit on a five-point Likert-type scale for hypothetical changes in interest rates, loan maturities and grace periods. Their responses were employed to measure credit demand scores or relative credit elasticities. The study evaluated credit elasticity as a function of farmers' credit constraint and some control variables using several regressions, including OLS, ordered probit and hierarchical regression. Findings: The study identified 44% unconstrained nonborrowing farmers, 23% unconstrained borrowers, 14% quantity-constrained, 16% risk-constrained and 3% transaction cost-constrained farmers. Unconstrained borrowers and quantity-constrained farmers responded most to changing interest rates and loan maturity conditions. In addition, unconstrained nonborrowers and risk-constrained farmers were statistically less sensitive to changes in credit conditions than unconstrained borrowers. This finding is significant because, as discussed, unconstrained nonborrowers represent 44% of our sample. Furthermore, risk-constrained farmers were the least sensitive to changes in interest rates and loan maturity across all other credit categories. Practical implications: This study gives insights that can guide agribusiness policies to enhance access to credit in developing countries such as Chile. Agricultural credit capital institutions can better target their clientele by identifying farmers' possible reactions before implementing policy changes to increase access to credit. This study's credit constraint categorization and the results discussed can guide that identification. For instance, policies directed toward unconstrained borrowing farmers may find positive responses. However, implementing policies targeting the other three groups (unconstrained nonborrowing, risk-constrained and transaction cost-constrained farmers) is more challenging because these farmers are less responsive to changing credit conditions. Originality/value: This article correlates farmers' propensity to borrow and credit constraints across five categories of farmers. Prior research using this categorization framework has not identified farmers into the five groups. Furthermore, in addition to interest rate and loan maturity credit demand relative elasticity, this study adds the grace period elasticity, which has not been included in previous studies on agricultural credit. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study looks at how important private banks are to the expansion of the Indian economy. Private banks have become major actors in the Indian banking industry during the last few decades, offering a wide range of financial services and making innovative contributions to the country's economic growth. The purpose of this study is to examine how private banks contribute to economic growth. Specifically, it will look at how they promote entrepreneurship, improve financial inclusion, and aid in the development of infrastructure and industry. By facilitating easier access to credit for both individuals and enterprises, private banks have made a substantial contribution to the Indian economy by encouraging entrepreneurship and job creation. Their technical innovations and competitive strategies have raised consumer happiness and efficiency in the banking industry. Furthermore, by providing banking services to underserved and rural areas, private banks have been instrumental in promoting financial inclusion by drawing more people into the formal financial system. The research also emphasizes the difficulties that private banks encounter, including regulatory barriers, rivalry from public sector banks, and the requirement for ongoing technology advancements. Notwithstanding these obstacles, private banks continue to have a significant overall influence on economic growth, highlighting their significance in the financial system. Because they promote financial innovation, inclusivity, and general economic development, private banks are essential to the expansion of the Indian economy. The purpose of this study is to support policies and regulatory frameworks that will further strengthen the role of private banks in India's economy and ensure inclusive and sustainable growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Banking systems play an essential role in the economy through their varied functions. They facilitate access to credit, ensure efficient money management and promote the smooth functioning of financial markets. In the current period, in financial and credit institutions there is an orientation towards the use of AI. Thus artificial intelligence has been introduced in bank asset management, in analyzing and assessing the risks of bank customers, in bank marketing, etc. The aim of the paper is to present the current AI technologies used in banking, highlighting the transformations that the field has undergone in recent years as a result of the implementation of AI. Moreover, the benefits, but also the risks that may arise for all actors participating in the banking market will be highlighted. We focus our attention on AI because it stimulates innovation in industry and opens the way to new business opportunities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explores to answer the question: does the introduction of a moveable collateral registry lead to significant increase in access to credit to micro, small and medium-sized enterprises? We examine this question through a unique dataset collected from the moveable collateral registry and commercial banks in Malawi. The findings indicate that the introduction of the registry in Malawi has led to marginal increase in MSME's access to bank credit. Real property, however, remains the preferred collateral and ability to repay the loan is the most important consideration amongst banks in assessing whether to lend to micro, small and medium-sized enterprises. We recommend the registry to integrate into its programs financial literacy training for MSMEs, and credit guarantee schemes to mitigate the perceived high risk associated with small enterprises. This will equip the MSMEs to keep proper accounts and enhance their access to the registry and bank credit. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyzes a survey of individual microentrepreneurs' (MEI) access to credit for business, broken down by their color or race in two Brazilian cities: Rio de Janeiro and Salvador. The central hypothesis of this study was that color or race is a significant predictor for credit rationing in both cities. However, the most crucial variables to explain the difference in credit approval were primarily related to credit risk operation—adverse selection, moral hazard, and collateral—as expressed by predictor: loan size and credit restriction (inversely correlated to odds of credit approval). The city of the loan operation had a robust explanatory power, with credit more accessible in Rio de Janeiro than in Salvador. Evidence of racial discrimination in the credit markets for business affected not all Afro-Brazilian MEI but blacks compared with white and brown MEI. Lenders could treat potential borrowers based on a pigmentocratic pattern, with this issue appearing more clearly in Rio de Janeiro. Further inquiries in this realm are recommended, preferably with a larger sample and a survey covering all Brazilian domestic territory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rice agriculture provides millions of households with a steady source of income and employment. However, for small and marginal farmers, the exorbitant cost of production inputs presents a formidable obstacle in their pursuit of acquiring it. Credit constraints are a significant impediment to the adoption of agricultural technologies. Therefore, this paper identifies the determinant of access to rural credit and its impact on Boro rice production technology adoption in Bangladesh using cross-sectional data. The study employed probit regression, propensity score matching (PSM), inverse probability weighting (IPW), and inverse probability weighted regression adjustment (IPWRA) techniques. The findings indicate that age, family size, working members, and involvement in safety net programs negatively and significantly influence access to rural credit, while earning persons in the family, literacy, rice farming experience, remittance, and total income positively influence access to rural credit. The positive and significant ATT values suggested that access to rural credit has a positive and significant effect on technology adoption and the level of technology use. It was also found that access to rural credit has a heterogeneous effect. In particular, non-government organization (NGO) credit has a more significant impact on technology adoption than formal bank credit. Access to credit and the adoption of agricultural technologies can be greatly improved with the help of a location-specific rural credit policy and strong monitoring from the formal banking sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The economic well-being of a household depends on its access to credit and also its access to a legal system for managing over-indebtedness. Our hypothesis is that the removal of regulatory constraints on a bank's ability to expand in new geographic markets increases households' access to credit, which in turn, contributes to a rise in consumer defaults. In the US, we find a net increase in Chapter 13 bankruptcies following a loosening of a state's restrictions on multi-branch banking, compared to the increase in Chapter 13 bankruptcies in states that did not change their banking rules. The increased mortgage lending after branch deregulation helps explain this rise in Chapter 13 filings, suggesting that homeowners use the Chapter 13 code to save their houses. Further, the effects of the mortgage supply channel are greater in areas with low bank concentration. Overall, our findings are relevant to policymakers in their efforts to either set up a new personal insolvency regime or modify the existing bankruptcy process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Retos, Revista de Ciencias Administrativas y Económicas is the property of Universidad Politecnica Salesiana and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

"Buy-now-pay-later" (BNPL) is a relatively unregulated FinTech innovation that provides consumers with easy access to credit for retail purchases. BNPL spending is projected to reach $1 trillion by 2025, but we know little about its effects. Using banking data for 10.6 million U.S. consumers, we investigate the effects of BNPL on leading indicators of users' financial health. We find that new BNPL users experience rapid increases in bank overdraft charges and credit card interest and fees compared with nonusers, consistent with BNPL facilitating overborrowing. An instrumental variable exploiting consumers' pre-BNPL shopping habits bolsters our inferences. Our results inform regulatory investigations into the effects of BNPL on users' financial health and expand academia's understanding of an important consumer credit innovation. This paper was accepted by Camelia Kuhnen, finance. Funding: E. deHaan acknowledges financial support from Stanford University; B. Lourie and C. Zhu acknowledge financial support from University of California Irvine. Supplemental Material: The online appendix and data files are available at https://doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.2022.03266. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of Technology Economics is the property of Chinese Society of Technology Economics and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The revised RBI notification on the Self-Help Group Bank Linkage Program (SHG-BLP) provides a roadmap for strengthening and enhancing the program's effectiveness in the banking and financial sector. The key measures to be taken include strengthening collaboration with government agencies and NGOs, innovating lending mechanisms to cater to diverse needs, simplifying processes for easy access to credit, enhancing the financial literacy among SHG members, and implementing robust monitoring and evaluation systems. By implementing these measures, the program can achieve greater financial inclusion and women empowerment to contribute to inclusive growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper establishes that agricultural group guarantee loans (AGGLs) are indeed an innovative tool used by Microfinance Institutions (MFIs) to extend credit to resource-disadvantaged smallholder farmers regarded as not credit-worthy by traditional lenders. It disproves popular literature that one requires assets to access formal credit and that extremely poor farmers are segregated from borrowing citing a lack of collateral to pledge to both group members and to the lender. This paper indicates that efforts to get smallholder farmers out of destitution should be redirected to addressing other group credit aspects other than increasing participation. Multi-stage sampling obtained 161 agricultural loan borrowers of Promotion of Rural Initiative Development Enterprises (PRIDE) microfinance, a formal Tier III credit institution in Uganda. Both borrowers of the group (AGGLs) and Individual (Individual Loan borrowers, IL) loans were selected for comparison purposes. Semi-structured interviews and in-depth discussions with farmer groups (focus group discussions, FGDs) collected both quantitative and qualitative data for the study. Descriptive statistics analysis presented the socioeconomic characteristics of the borrowers while the binary logistic regression model determined the factors that influence participation in AGGLs. The findings indicated that IL borrowers were better off in socioeconomic aspects such as income than AGGL borrowers. The study results revealed that the probability of participating in AGGLs decreases with an increase in the number of asset ownership and an increase in household expenses, particularly education. This implies that AGGLs are socially perceived to be a "facility for the poor", supporting the motives of MFIs. Agricultural group guarantee loans are associated with smaller loan amounts due to fear of default. These smaller amounts limit investment and consequent income improvement. This is the first paper to study participation in AGGLs offered by a formal credit institution in Uganda. Other group loans offered in Uganda do not target agriculture, those that do, are offered by savings and credit cooperative organizations (SACCOs) informally started by farmers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The primary purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of bank competition on SMEs' access to finance in selected Indian states. Using 9,281 firm-level observations from World Bank Enterprises Survey (WBES), this study tests the market power hypothesis versus the information hypothesis to determine whether bank competition promotes access to finance for financially constrained firms. Design/methodology/approach: The authors measure state-level bank competition using two structural indicators: the Herfindahl Hirschman Index (HHI) and three bank concentration ratios (CR3). The authors apply simple probit regression, probit model with sample selection (PSS) and two-stage least squares (2SLS) to examine the effects of bank competition on firms' financing constraints. Findings: The results obtained through PSS and 2SLS indicate that bank competition alleviates firm's financing constraints and positively impacts its need for a bank loan and the decision to apply for bank credit. However, the prevalence of bank competition in promoting access to finance is more pronounced for small and medium-sized firms than for large firms. Higher bank competition also alleviates the credit constraints faced by female entrepreneurs. Practical implications: Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and other government stakeholders should ensure bank competition without hampering the agenda of bank consolidation to facilitate access to credit for SMEs. Regulators should also identify and monitor the financial institutions that make an insignificant contribution to promoting competitiveness in the financial system. Originality/value: Previous studies primarily investigate the effect of bank competition on a firm's access to finance from advanced and cross-country perspectives. This study contributes to the literature on bank competition by examining its role in promoting access to finance from an emerging economy standpoint. Measurement of bank competition indicators at the state level is an additional contribution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As thousands of African Americans arrived in Philadelphia and other areas of the North during the Great Migration, they found White-owned financial institutions that refused to lend or seek their deposit business. In response to the need for credit, African American leaders created three Black-owned financial institutions, or "race banks," in Philadelphia. Although they faced daunting economic challenges, this article explores the so-called race banks' embrace of economic self-determination by providing access to credit to facilitate wealth creation in the Black community through homeownership and small business development. Beyond the economic value, the founders of these race banks understood that the Black-owned institutions represented an integral piece in the fight for civil rights legislation and racial solidarity. By exploring the biography of each leader, this article demonstrates the intersection of civil rights advocacy and economic self-determination as mutually reenforcing tools to challenge racial oppression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of Small Business & Entrepreneurship is the property of Routledge and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The credit-constrained poor fish farmers in Bangladesh usually have limited access to formal credit institutions. As a result, NGOs took the effort to provide collateral-free microcredit support for the fish farmers to tide over their credit-related problems. This study empirically assesses the impact of microcredit on the household food expenditure of fish farmers. The empirical results challenge the existing literature that access to credit increases the food expenditure of poor fish farmers. However, household assets played a pivotal role in increasing the food expenditure capacity of the fish farmers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of Small Business & Entrepreneurship is the property of Routledge and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

A behavioural finance perspective offers possible ways for bankers to enhance small and medium-sized enterprises' (SMEs) access to financing and the quality of a bank's credit portfolio but is neglected in the present bank policy and practice. This paper studies the fundamental and behavioural factors that determine credit decisions for SMEs by bank officers in Malaysia using the theoretical lenses of bounded rationality. In finding ways to reduce behavioural biases, the effect of the human capital factor on credit decisions is examined. The data for the study were obtained from 161 bank credit officers in development financial institutions and commercial banks by using stratified random sampling that sufficiently represents the local banks' population in Malaysia. Hierarchical multiple regressions were used to examine the relationship between the fundamental factors, behavioural factors and human capital factors on bank officers' credit decisions on lending to SMEs. In the assessment of the fundamental factors, regression results showed that character and condition have a positive relationship with the credit decision making. In the behavioural factors assessment, intuition, optimism and overconfidence are influential in behavioural credit decision making, while the interaction analysis shows that credit experience and emotional intelligence can reduce the influence of behavioural factors on bank officer credit decisions for lending to SMEs. Generally, the findings of this study confirm the theoretical framework of the bounded rational credit decision and would be valuable in enhancing the theory, practice and policy regarding lending to SMEs, particularly in minimising behavioural biases in lending decision making. This research offers bounded rational perspectives on bank credit officers' decisions. The research framework revealed that bank credit officers are influenced by both rational (fundamental factors) and irrational (behavioural factors) in their credit assessment and decision-making process. Presumably, the influence of behavioural biases could have negative effects on SME financing access and credit portfolio quality. In addition, the framework provides insights into ways to reduce behavioural biases to improve rationality in credit decision making and credit portfolio quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Banking as an industry and banks as organizations play central roles in determining access to credit and routine retail banking. However, the persistence of well-documented inequalities necessitates questions about how banks provide access. Through in-depth interviews with 36 bank employees, we deployed theories of racialized and gendered organizations to explore banks' familiar, routinized practices and procedures. Bank employees' highly predictable, patterned narratives offered supportive evidence of banks as racialized and gendered organizations that diminish the agency of marginalized groups, legitimate unequal resource distribution, credential Whiteness, and decouple practices from official procedures in ways that uphold racial and gender hierarchies. In the context of banks' familiar and mundane roles of retail banking and customer service, our findings speak to the depths of these organizations' reliance on racial and gender hierarchies with wide-reaching implications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study uses focus group discussion, key informant interview, and quantitative household survey to explore how smallholders access credits and loans influence adoption of modern production technologies and what are perceived limitations to access these financial instruments in the Shia-Osuduku District in the Greater Accra Region of Ghana. The specific objectives of the study are; (1) to assess the challenges rice farmers face in accessing finance, (2) to determine if access to finance impacts the adoption of modern rice production technologies and (3) to determine whether loan investments in improved technologies increase productivity and income levels of farmers. The study noted that issues of mistrust for smallholder farmers by financial institutions act as barriers to facilitating their access to loans and credits. Banks and financial institutions relay their mistrust through actions such as requesting outrageous collateral, guarantors, a high sum of savings capital, and a high-interest rate for agriculture loans, delays, and bureaucratic processes in accessing loans. The study suggested that enabling policy environment and frameworks with a supportive rural infrastructure such as warehouse receipt systems can significantly increase farmers' access to credit instruments for investment in modern technologies to increase agricultural productivity, which is essential to address issues of food insecurities and rural poverty in Ghana. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The number of community banks in the United States has been declining steadily for decades, as has the share of total industry assets held by these banks. Because community banks play an outsized role in originating loans to small businesses, a continued decline in their numbers and asset holdings could constrain entrepreneurs' access to credit--and, accordingly, constrain growth in the overall economy. One possible explanation for the declining number of community banks is that larger banks have benefitted from economies of scale and outpaced them in efficiency. Stefan Jacewitz examines how the efficiency of community banks has changed since the 2008 global financial crisis. He finds that community banks have in fact seen substantial improvements in efficiency, partially attributable to a relative decline in their brick-andmortar expenses. His results suggest that community banks have made and continue to make meaningful gains even as the banking landscape evolves. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]