Collateral-based in SME lending: The role of business collateral and personal collateral in less-developed countries

- This paper extends empirical evidence on the determinants; of the incidence of business and personal collateral for SMEs in less-developed countries.
- The findings endorse the importance of producing and sharing private information between lenders to reduce informational asymmetries.
- The results suggest that market concentration increases lazy behavior of banks by asking for collateral not to mitigate observable risk but to reduce screening efforts.
- The results indicate that reforms pertaining to the information-sharing instruments by public credit registries have practical effects on mitigating credit constraints and reducing collateral requirements.
- Using a continuation ratio model, this study uncovers several differences in the determinants of the collateralization decision and the type of collateral provided.

Using a database of banking credit approvals for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) operating in less-developed countries throughout Eastern Europe and Central Asia, this paper extends empirical evidence on the determinants of the incidence and the levels of business and personal collateral, reporting first-hand results regarding the impact of the recently reformed credit environment on collateral requirements. The findings endorse the importance of producing and sharing private information between lenders to reduce informational asymmetries and, consequently, the need to provide collateral to receive a loan. The results also suggest that market concentration increases “lazy” behavior on behalf of banks in the form of asking for collateral not to mitigate observable risk but rather to reduce screening efforts.