Drivers of Banks’ Debt Financing: The Panel Data Evidence from Large Commercial Banks in Tanzania

Debt financing is one of the major funding sources of commercial banks. In recent years, analysis of the banks’ debt financing has gained considerable interest in the context of the global financial crisis. Despite the importance of debt financing on banks, the determinants of debt financing in the banking sector have remained largely unexplored compared to non-banking firms. This led this paper to investigate the significant drivers of debt financing of commercial banks in Tanzania. To achieve the study objective a balanced panel was formed by extracting the data of Tanzanian all ten large commercial banks over the period of 10 years from 2013 to 2022. The study employed a fixed effect model along with a random effect model and ordinary least squares regression. The findings revealed that banks’ debt financing is positively and significantly influenced by bank size, bank liquidity, and economic growth. Profitability, collateral, and the COVID-19 pandemic negatively and significantly affect banks’ debt financing. The findings indicate that the drivers of debt financing of banks in Tanzania are similar to those of non-banks institutions however, distinctive in nature. The practical implications of this paper assist bank managers to identify the significant drivers influencing banks’ debt financing and opt for the best capital structure strategies. The regulators should ensure that low-cost capitals are accessible to banks during the financial crisis to maintain economic growth.

债务融资是商业银行的主要资金来源之一。近年来，在全球金融危机背景下，商业银行债务融资相关研究受到了广泛关注。尽管债务融资对商业银行至关重要，但相较于非银行企业，银行业债务融资的影响因素迄今仍未得到充分探究。为此，本研究聚焦坦桑尼亚商业银行债务融资的核心驱动因素展开探究。为达成研究目标，本研究提取2013至2022年十年间坦桑尼亚全部10家大型商业银行的面板数据，构建平衡面板数据集。本研究采用固定效应模型、随机效应模型与普通最小二乘回归法开展实证分析。研究结果显示，商业银行债务融资受到银行规模、银行流动性及经济增长的正向显著影响；而盈利能力、抵押品状况与新冠疫情（COVID-19 pandemic）则对商业银行债务融资产生负向显著影响。研究结果同时表明，坦桑尼亚银行业债务融资的驱动因素与非银行金融机构存在一定共性，但本质上仍具有独特性。本研究的实践价值在于，可帮助银行管理者精准识别影响债务融资的核心驱动因素，从而选择最优资本结构策略；监管机构则应确保在金融危机期间，商业银行能够获取低成本资金，以维持经济增长。