Macroeconomic and bank-specific determinants of bank loans to private sector: The case of North Macedonia

Abstract

The main aim of this paper is to identify the macroeconomic and bank-specific determinants of bank loans to private sector in North Macedonia during the period from Q4 2007 to Q3 2019. Economic growth theory and empirical studies indicate that bank loans to private sector is an important factor of economic growth, which is especially pronounced in countries where the financial system is dominated by banks. For that purpose, we develop a single-country regression analysis with the ARDL model using quarterly data to examine the effect of the identified determinants from both the demand and supply sides. The results show that deposits and bank efficiency have the most significant impact on bank loans to private sector, while non-performing loans negatively affect bank loans growth to private sector