Lending attitude to SME: An application in Turkish banking sector

The purpose of this study is to put forward the factors that affecting Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) loans used by the banks For this purpose, factors affecting the behavior of each of the public, participation, indigenous-private and foreign bank groups are investigated. Hypotheses of study have been tested with regression analysis using macroeconomic indices and banking sector specific variables that are thought to influence credit lending attitudes to SMEs. According to result of the analysis, while the lending attitude in participation, domestic-private and foreign bank groups is affected by deposit interest rate and the ratio of lending to gross domestic product (GDP), the lending behavior of state-controlled bank group is affected only the ratio of lending to gross domestic product (GDP). Return on assets variable does'nt affect SMEs lending attitude for any banking group. Keywords: SME lending, Turkish Banking Sector, bank groups, regression analysis