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Introduction: According to the existing research, one of the key determinants of a company’s survival and market development is its ability to get bank loans or other external sources of finance for business expansion.

Purpose: The study aims to explore the factors affecting access to finance and their effects on the development of medium- and small-sized businesses. These factors include business size and age, profitability, the length of a company’s association with a commercial bank, and banking sector characteristics.

Need for the study: It is particularly crucial for small- and medium-sized businesses since they often have trouble getting funding from banks because they don’t supply the banks with the information they need to assess their loan application prospects, however, when a company’s economic and financial situation improves, banks get access to more information about the firms, and financing is thus more readily available.

Methodology: This research is based on qualitative methods, focus on an elaborative study of the existing literature, and provide suggestions based on the same.

Findings: The findings show that small- and medium-sized businesses, like those in other European nations, have less access to finance than large businesses. It revealed that the company’s size, liquidity, profitability, and banking industry state significantly influence the availability of bank loans.

With the creation of the Single European market in 1992, there will be intensification of competitive pressure on small firms in the UK and on UK banks as their main providers of finance. Evidence is presented of possible mismatching of the services actually provided by UK banks and those desired by small firms, and of the unwillingness of UK small firms to switch banks, particularly if it involves crossing the Scots/English border. It is argued that the competitiveness of UK small firms after 1992 depends on either an autonomous change in the services provided by UK banks or the switching of accounts to non‐domestic banks who may move into the domestic market.

The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate a comparative study of financing small and cottage industries (SCIs) by interest‐free banks in different countries like Turkey, Cyprus, Sudan and Bangladesh.

The objectives are achieved by analyzing data based on an “institutional network” theoretical frame of references. The methodological approach used in the research is of a qualitative nature.

The research result shows that the lender–borrower network relationship, especially in case of financing rural‐based SCIs by interest‐free banks, differ from one country to the other even though the basic principles of interest‐free financing remains the same.

The ideas of interest‐free financing system (IFS) and its specific mode of lending funds towards rural‐based SCIs. The research is useful to both financing organizations based on interest‐free principles also small and cottage industry owners in developing as well as developed nations, where the Shariah‐based IFS is working.

This paper aims to investigate the determinants that contribute to the financial stability and banking sector of Palestinian banks listed on the Palestine Stock Exchange (PEX) by using yearly data for the years 2012–2022.

Pooled ordinary least squares (OLS) and two-stage least squares (2SLS) were used to identify the variables and factors affecting the financial stability and banking sector of Palestinian banks. The study’s data were collected from the banks listed on PEX and from the yearly reports posted on the Palestine Monetary Authority’s (PMA) webpage over the years from 2012–2022. According to this research’s analysis, SMEs loans and capital sufficiency have a statistically significant positive impact on the stability of Palestinian banks. Unobserved heterogeneity, simultaneity and dynamic endogeneity are taken into account when using the 2SLS regression approach to adjust for the study endogeneity factor.

The study’s findings show that some factors and determinants might have both good and negative effects on financial stability and banking sector. Loans to small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) and enough capital are two characteristics that statistically have a major favourable impact on the stability of Palestinian banks since they help the banks withstand deficits. A further potential discovery relates to the favourable effects of financial inclusion (FI) and digital financial services (DFS) on the stability of banks.

This research has faced some limitations, such as the lack of a defined index from the regulatory organizations, this research is based on information from bank annual accounts. It has mostly relied on self-developed or World Bank indexes. Furthermore, the research solely used information from the supply side (banks); demand-side data were not taken into consideration.

This paper has managerial implications for stability of banking sector. The Palestine Monetary Authority, as the central bank, must increase the percentage of bank loans directed to small and medium-sized companies and oblige bank management to adhere to adequate capital standards, which contributes to strengthening the Palestinian banking sector and increasing its profits. The study findings advise banks that are enjoying financial stability to speed up the pace of FI and DFSs because most of these reliable banks have relatively low FI ratios. PMA is responsible for preserving the stability of the financial system. PMA, decision makers and banks management must retain adequate liquidity in their institutions and raise client collateral expectations to raise credit conditions.

This paper adds some contributions to the literature. To adjust for discrepancies between various types of banks, the authors concentrate on conventional and Islamic banks, which enables us to use a homogenous data set as opposed to depending on dichotomous variables. The authors used Z-scores, which have recently been used in research, to measure stability and FI at the level of specific institutions. This research contributes in some key aspects that no prior research has addressed. Conventional banks are different from Islamic banks, and a number of issues might impact their stability. To evaluate the connection between FI and DFSs, it is important to consider the actions of bank regulators.

Motivated by massive bank failures during the financial crisis and the remarkable resilience of Islamic banks (IBs), this paper aims to analyze the interdependencies between asset/liability portfolio choices of IBs in emerging markets.

The authors collect data from the financial statements of IBs in the Middle East and North Africa region and Southeast Asia during the period 2002-2012. Using canonical correlation analysis, the authors investigate the degree of interdependencies between the asset/liability accounts unique to IBs and how their ALM models work at times of economic turmoil.

IBs tend to make decisions on sources of finance based on their asset portfolio choices. The interdependencies are stronger for small banks. IBs direct more of their investments to risk-mitigating instruments that share the risk with the borrower/client and are based on the purchase and sale of real goods rather than financial instruments. Additionally, banks tend to rely less on equity to finance their investments during economic boom and increase their equity holdings during economic bust.

This paper contributes to research on an under-researched, globally growing finance sector. It extends research on ALM while providing novel evidence using non-standardized asset/liability accounts unique to IBs.

The analysis of unique accounts has not been discussed in prior studies, which mainly used standardized account balances to compare Islamic and conventional banks. Moreover, the resilience of IBs and whether their ALM models are superior at times of turmoil has remained a black box. The results of this study are relevant to unravel this unanswered question.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

This study analyzes the role of regional cooperative banks in identifying and financing small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) from a proximity perspective. Access to finance is a major challenge for SMEs. Regional cooperative banks can remove this barrier based on cooperative bank's characteristics and geographic proximity to SMEs. Understanding the interplay between these financial actors and firms can contribute to a better support of SMEs development.

The results are based on a case study of eight SMEs located in southwestern France. Interviews were conducted with two regional cooperative funds and eight SMEs. The interview guide included questions related to the company, the projects financed and how financing was accessed.

Results reveal that a combination of three forms of proximity allows regional cooperative banks and SMEs to establish effective financing operations. They show that regional cooperative banks are key players in the existing financing mechanisms for SMEs. Such financing is often used to gain access to larger players at a later stage. The findings suggest the need for public policies that promote the integration of financing actors in regional ecosystems to advance SMEs' development.

This article examines how SMEs access financing, with a focus on regional cooperative banks, which have received little attention in the literature. Moreover, the relationships between these actors are studied through the lens of proximity. Regional cooperative banks are able to finance projects that may have been overlooked by traditional banks due to trust-building local dynamics.

The purpose of this paper is to use univariate statistical analysis to investigate barriers to raising bank finance faced by UK small and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs), specifically the impact of personal characteristics (ethnicity, gender and education).

A conceptual model was developed and the results of a telephone survey of 400 SMEs conducted (before the “credit crunch”) by the Barclays Bank small business research team were analysed. The survey was based on a large stratified random sample drawn from the Bank's entire SME population.

It was found that education made little difference to sources of finance, except that those educated to A‐level more frequently used friends and family and remortgaged their homes. However, graduates had the least difficulties raising finance. Though statistically insignificant, women respondents found it easier to raise finance than men. The survey confirmed that – and this finding was statistically significant – ethnic minority businesses, particularly black owner‐managers, had the greatest problem raising finance and hence relied upon “bootstrapping” as a financing strategy.

The study makes an important contribution to filling a research gap, given the critical need of policy‐makers to understand differentials between different types of owner‐managers. It brings new insights into its field – access to finance – and with respect, especially, to marginalised groups.

The paper adopts a different approach than many prior studies, with a large sample and robust analysis, to explore a critical need‐to‐know area in a new way – both for policy‐makers and academics in the field of SME finance.