Factors Affecting Libyan SMEs’ Selection of Banks as Business Partners

The aim of the current paper is to investigate the major criteria/factors considered in the process of banking partner choice/selection by SMEs in Libya. For this purpose a sample of more than 200 SMEs was targeted by a survey questionnaire which was prepared based on the relevant literature. The findings reveal that factors such as personal banking relationship with the bank, location convenience, and the credit availability upon competitive prices were considered as the most important. Lower level of attention, however, was given to other factors such as recommendation by others, personal relationships with managers, and friendliness of the staff. No significant differences in these factors were found across business sectors.Considering the fact that the study was conducted within only one region, the findings may lack generalizability. Hence, further research to assess the extent to which these findings can be further generalized across the country is encouraged. The findings can be beneficial for banks in order to be more effective in serving this sector. As a result, it is hoped that SMEs to be better served. The results may also create more business opportunities between banks and SMEs. The study is the first of its kind that investigated the SMEs-banks business relationship in Libya. It, therefore, adds to the existing literature on SMEs-banks relationships in developing economies.