Bank growth, competition, and small business financing in Nigeria

This study used ex post-facto design to examine how competition among high-growth banks has affected the banks' provision of assets to small business borrowers in Nigeria following several regulations. The study used a bi-sample structure through a judgmental technique that examined 126 and 96 firm-years between 2001 and 2017, which enabled us to test both pre- and post-bank growth-competition Boone model effects. We found evidence that in both the pre- and post-bank-growth eras, competition significantly increased small business loans consistent with 'competition-stability' hypothesis. A unit increase in the Boone-competition indicator resulted in a 3.8% credit supply. However, when we used concentration ratio (CR6), we found that pre-mega structure competition yields negative effects but that the post-growth effect on credit supply remains positive. Controlled macroeconomic factors yield a very significant effect on credit supply. Thus, policymakers should not ignore the variables in competition-monetary transmission policies in Nigeria.