Year: 2018
Type: dissertation
Abstract: The maturity transformation of deposits is a primary driver of economic growth, as loans enable borrowers to spend funds, thereby growing the economy. However, if borrowers cannot repay their loans, the asset quality of banks deteriorate, resulting in non-performing loans or, worse, an economic crisis. An understanding of how macroeconomic and microeconomic determinants impact bank asset quality in South Africa can contribute to knowledge of the bank asset quality phenomenon in the African context. Due to the 2008/2009 global financial crisis, the introduction of new legislation and the value of gold exports, the South African economy presents an opportunity to make an original contribution to the knowledge of determinants that influence bank asset quality. In addition to studying bank asset quality determinants that are contested in research, this study also aims to determine whether a superior returns determinant of non-performing loans exists when comparing a bank’s profitability determinants, namely return on assets, return on equity and interest income on loans. \nThis study applied panel data regression analysis, making use of a balanced panel approach, to study the determinants of bank asset quality. This approach recontextualises the existing bank asset quality theory for the South African financial sector. The results indicate that South Africa is not resilient against the impact of global financial crises trickling through international trade linkages and that regulatory changes do not instantly improve bank asset quality, and may even reduce the short-term asset quality. Moreover, bank asset quality in South Africa is sensitive to the total value of gold exports. It is evident from the profitability measures that the interest income on loans is the most suitable profitability measure of bank asset quality. \nThis study provides an original contribution to bank asset quality determinants and recommends that regulators should pre-emptively determine the impact of new legislation on bank asset quality. Furthermore, interest income on loans as a profitability measure provides the most accurate results. Lastly, a single-country bank asset quality analysis is important, especially for economies that have commodity exports that significantly weigh in on the bank asset mix.
Author: Coert Frederik Erasmus
Language: English
Subfield: Finance
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2910407559