How corruption affects loan portfolio quality in emerging markets?

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to empirically investigate the impact of corruption on the asset quality of banks operating in emerging market economies over the period 2008-2012. This issue is of crucial importance given the role of banking systems in economic development and the worldwide spread of corruption. Using panel data set of 22 countries, our findings provide a strong and robust support to the hypothesis according to which corruption aggravates the problem with non-performing loans. This evidence suggests that corruption may hinder economic development through the misallocation of loanable funds. Other results are as follows: economic expansion and capitalization level improve the loan portfolio quality. By contrast, unemployment deteriorates the debt servicing capacity of borrower which in turn contributes to lower the bank asset quality. Design/methodology/approach - The authors use panel data techniques on a sample of 22 emerging market economies over the period 2008-2012 to test the relevance of corrupt practices on the soundness of banks. Findings - Their findings reveal a robust positive relationship between corruption and non-performing loans (NPLs). This evidence corroborates previous results on the detrimental effect of corrupt practices on financial development. The subdivision of our main sample into two groups on the basis of the level of corruption reveals the importance of the effectiveness of collateral and bankruptcy laws in reducing the effect of corruption on loan portfolio. Moreover, we find that the accessibility to more credit information is helpful only in low corrupt countries since it enhances the soundness of banks by facilitating lending decisions. Originality/value - The novelty of this paper is to take into consideration the implications of corruption in investigating the determinants of credit risk.