{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,12]],"date-time":"2025-10-12T04:39:23Z","timestamp":1760243963991,"version":"build-2065373602"},"reference-count":145,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"4","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2022,10,19]],"date-time":"2022-10-19T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1666137600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"FCT\u2014Foundation for Science and Technology","award":["UIDB\/05583\/2020"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["UIDB\/05583\/2020"]}]},{"name":"Research Centre in Digital Services (CISeD)","award":["UIDB\/05583\/2020"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["UIDB\/05583\/2020"]}]},{"name":"Polytechnic of Viseu","award":["UIDB\/05583\/2020"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["UIDB\/05583\/2020"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["IJFS"],"abstract":"<jats:p>This paper investigates how bank characteristics (market share, principal shareholders, profitability, and size), and the gender of the company\u2019s board members, along with their supervisory abilities, influence the firm\u2019s performance, cost of debt, and leverage. We extracted relevant data from a sample of nearly 18,300 Portuguese companies in 2020 (the pandemic year) to build our model with all the main explanatory variables; then, through the least absolute shrinkage and selection operator estimation, we reduced the variables. The robust ordinary least-squares standard-errors approach was applied by company size. Our findings allowed us to observe the crucial negative role of multiple bank relations, but only on the returns of small companies. A decrease in bank relations led to an increase in debt cost and reduced leverage across larger companies. Profitable banks generate higher company returns, mainly for small companies. Furthermore, the better-informed bank shareholders (management, institutional, or government) persuaded the banks to charge higher interest rates, resulting in a higher leverage ratio for companies of average size. Female board members tended to vote for lower debt ratios due to greater risk aversion, while the opposite was true of male board members. The supervisory capacity of the board in the area of bank relations showed a more substantial link with the increased financing costs of small companies. In brief, bank characteristics and board gender were strongly associated with the financial aggregates of companies relative to their size. This work contributes to the literature by using new bank characteristics and an original variable representing board ability to cope with bank relations. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to determine the association of the above characteristics in the Portuguese market relative to company size, and their impact on profitability, cost of debt, and leverage. The company board and banking systems should evaluate the impact of their decisions on corporate activity and make necessary adjustments.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/ijfs10040098","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2022,10,19]],"date-time":"2022-10-19T20:32:23Z","timestamp":1666211543000},"page":"98","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["How Do Banking Characteristics Influence Companies\u2019 Debt Features and Performance during COVID-19? A Study of Portuguese Firms"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"10","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-1301-6645","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Pedro Manuel Nogueira","family":"Reis","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"CISeD\u2014Research Center in Digital Services, Polytechnic Institute of Viseu, 3504-510 Viseu, Portugal"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-9561-3509","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Ant\u00f3nio Pedro","family":"Soares Pinto","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"CISeD\u2014Research Center in Digital Services, Polytechnic Institute of Viseu, 3504-510 Viseu, Portugal"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2022,10,19]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"11","DOI":"10.1108\/10867371211203828","article-title":"Bank concentration and financial constraints on firm investment in UK","volume":"29","author":"Abubakr","year":"2012","journal-title":"Studies in Economics and Finance"},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"291","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jfineco.2008.10.007","article-title":"Women in the boardroom and their impact on governance and performance","volume":"94","author":"Adams","year":"2009","journal-title":"Journal of Financial Economics"},{"key":"ref_3","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"16","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jmoneco.2018.02.005","article-title":"Benefits of relationship banking: Evidence from consumer credit markets","volume":"96","author":"Agarwal","year":"2018","journal-title":"Journal of Monetary Economics"},{"key":"ref_4","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"193","DOI":"10.1257\/000282803321455223","article-title":"Portfolio choice and trading in a large 401 (k) plan","volume":"93","author":"Agnew","year":"2003","journal-title":"American Economic Review"},{"key":"ref_5","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"335","DOI":"10.1007\/s11187-008-9154-6","article-title":"Is banking competition beneficial to SMEs? An empirical study based on Italian data","volume":"35","author":"Agostino","year":"2010","journal-title":"Small Business Economics"},{"key":"ref_6","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"403","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jebo.2017.07.027","article-title":"Is financial inclusion good for bank stability? International evidence","volume":"157","author":"Ahamed","year":"2019","journal-title":"Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization"},{"key":"ref_7","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"45","DOI":"10.1111\/j.1542-4774.2012.01100.x","article-title":"Do women pay more for credit? Evidence from Italy","volume":"11","author":"Alesina","year":"2013","journal-title":"Journal of the European Economic Association"},{"key":"ref_8","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"845","DOI":"10.1093\/jeg\/lbp055","article-title":"Bank size or distance: What hampers innovation adoption by SMEs?","volume":"10","author":"Alessandrini","year":"2010","journal-title":"Journal of Economic Geography"},{"key":"ref_9","first-page":"567","article-title":"The role of gender in entrepreneur\u2013investor relationships: A signaling theory approach","volume":"41","author":"Alsos","year":"2017","journal-title":"Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice"},{"key":"ref_10","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"996","DOI":"10.1016\/j.euroecorev.2009.03.004","article-title":"Securitisation and the bank lending channel","volume":"53","author":"Altunbas","year":"2009","journal-title":"European Economic Review"},{"key":"ref_11","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"89","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ememar.2016.08.019","article-title":"Banking competition and firm-level financial constraints in Latin America","volume":"28","author":"Bertin","year":"2016","journal-title":"Emerging Markets Review"},{"key":"ref_12","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"431","DOI":"10.1111\/j.1468-0084.1987.mp49004006.x","article-title":"Computing Robust Standard Errors for Within-Groups Estimators","volume":"49","author":"Arellano","year":"1987","journal-title":"Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics"},{"key":"ref_13","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"532","DOI":"10.1257\/aer.102.3.532","article-title":"Access to credit by small businesses: How relevant are race, ethnicity, and gender?","volume":"102","author":"Asiedu","year":"2012","journal-title":"American Economic Review"},{"key":"ref_14","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"75","DOI":"10.1007\/s11187-014-9549-5","article-title":"Who creates jobs in developing countries?","volume":"43","author":"Ayyagari","year":"2014","journal-title":"Small Business Economics"},{"unstructured":"Banchuenvijit, Wanrapee, and Puong, Nguyen Thi Hong (2012). Determinants of firm performance of Vietnam listed companies. Academic and Business Research Inst\u0131tute, 1\u20137. Available online: http:\/\/aabri.com\/SA12Manuscripts\/SA12078.pdf.","key":"ref_15"},{"key":"ref_16","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"261","DOI":"10.1162\/003355301556400","article-title":"Boys will be boys: Gender, overconfidence, and common stock investment","volume":"116","author":"Barber","year":"2001","journal-title":"The Quarterly Journal of Economics"},{"key":"ref_17","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"2931","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jbankfin.2006.05.009","article-title":"Small and medium-size enterprises: Access to finance as a growth constraint","volume":"30","author":"Beck","year":"2006","journal-title":"Journal of Banking & Finance"},{"key":"ref_18","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"79","DOI":"10.1111\/j.1468-0416.2007.00120.x","article-title":"The basic analytics of access to financial services","volume":"16","author":"Beck","year":"2007","journal-title":"Financial Markets, Institutions & Instruments"},{"key":"ref_19","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"627","DOI":"10.1353\/mcb.2004.0039","article-title":"Bank competition and access to finance: International evidence","volume":"36","author":"Beck","year":"2004","journal-title":"Journal of Money, Credit and Banking"},{"key":"ref_20","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"35","DOI":"10.1007\/s10693-010-0085-4","article-title":"Bank financing for SMEs: Evidence across countries and bank ownership types","volume":"39","author":"Beck","year":"2011","journal-title":"Journal of Financial Services Research"},{"key":"ref_21","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"2968","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jbankfin.2010.07.008","article-title":"Does gender matter in bank\u2013firm relationships? Evidence from small business lending","volume":"34","author":"Bellucci","year":"2010","journal-title":"Journal of Banking & Finance"},{"key":"ref_22","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"3416","DOI":"10.1093\/rfs\/hhx038","article-title":"Small bank comparative advantages in alleviating financial constraints and providing liquidity insurance over time","volume":"30","author":"Berger","year":"2017","journal-title":"The Review of Financial Studies"},{"key":"ref_23","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"88","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jimonfin.2016.07.003","article-title":"Competition and financial constraints: A two-sided story","volume":"70","author":"Bernini","year":"2017","journal-title":"Journal of International Money and Finance"},{"key":"ref_24","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"597","DOI":"10.1111\/j.1540-6261.2007.01218.x","article-title":"Banking deregulation and industry structure: Evidence from the French banking reforms of 1985","volume":"62","author":"Bertrand","year":"2007","journal-title":"The Journal of Finance"},{"doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Bhat, Dilawar Ahmad, Chanda, Udayan, and Bhat, Anil (2020). Does Firm Size Influence Leverage? Evidence from India. Global Business Review.","key":"ref_25","DOI":"10.1177\/0972150919891616"},{"key":"ref_26","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"2807","DOI":"10.1111\/1540-6261.00513","article-title":"Entrepreneurship and Bank Credit Availability","volume":"57","author":"Black","year":"2002","journal-title":"Journal of Finance"},{"key":"ref_27","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"450","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ejor.2015.05.017","article-title":"A frontier measure of US banking competition","volume":"246","author":"Bolt","year":"2015","journal-title":"European Journal of Operational Research"},{"key":"ref_28","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"2643","DOI":"10.1093\/rfs\/hhw041","article-title":"Relationship and transaction lending in a crisis","volume":"29","author":"Bolton","year":"2016","journal-title":"The Review of Financial Studies"},{"key":"ref_29","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"225","DOI":"10.1353\/mcb.2004.0011","article-title":"Bank competition and firm creation","volume":"36","year":"2004","journal-title":"Journal of Money, Credit and Banking"},{"unstructured":"Bongini, Paola, Di Battista, Maria Luisa, and Nieri, Laura (2022, August 23). RRelationship Lending through the Cycle: What Can We Learn from Three Decades of Research?. Available online: https:\/\/papers.ssrn.com\/sol3\/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2925893.","key":"ref_30"},{"doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Bragoli, Daniela, Burlina, Chiara, Cortelezzi, Flavia, and Marseguerra, Giovanni (2022). Banking proximity and firm performance. The role of small businesses, community banks and the credit cycle. Applied Economics.","key":"ref_31","DOI":"10.1080\/00036846.2022.2073959"},{"key":"ref_32","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"100676","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ememar.2020.100676","article-title":"SME lending and banking system stability: Some mechanisms at work","volume":"43","author":"Brei","year":"2020","journal-title":"Emerging Markets Review"},{"key":"ref_33","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"27","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jfs.2016.04.008","article-title":"Inflation volatility effects on the allocation of bank loans","volume":"24","author":"Caglayan","year":"2016","journal-title":"Journal of Financial Stability"},{"key":"ref_34","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"349","DOI":"10.1093\/rfs\/hhv069","article-title":"Enlarging the contracting space: Collateral menus access to credit, and economic activity","volume":"29","author":"Campello","year":"2016","journal-title":"The Review of Financial Studies"},{"key":"ref_35","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"353","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jfineco.2012.03.006","article-title":"A darker side to decentralized banks: Market power and credit rationing in SME lending","volume":"105","author":"Canales","year":"2012","journal-title":"Journal of Financial Economics"},{"key":"ref_36","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"56","DOI":"10.1016\/j.iref.2021.11.007","article-title":"Bank competition and the price of credit: Evidence using Mexican loan-level data","volume":"79","author":"Guerrero","year":"2022","journal-title":"International Review of Economics & Finance"},{"key":"ref_37","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"105818","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jbankfin.2020.105818","article-title":"How do bank-specific characteristics affect lending? New evidence based on credit registry data from Latin America","volume":"135","author":"Claessens","year":"2022","journal-title":"Journal of Banking & Finance"},{"key":"ref_38","first-page":"2","article-title":"How have borrowers fared in banking mega-mergers?","volume":"10623","author":"Carow","year":"2003","journal-title":"NBER Working Paper"},{"unstructured":"Carroll, James, and McCann, Fergan (2016). Understanding SME Interest Rate Variation across Europe. Quarterly Bulletin Articles, 60\u201376. Available online: https:\/\/ideas.repec.org\/a\/cbi\/qtbart\/y2016m03p60-76.html.","key":"ref_39"},{"key":"ref_40","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"396","DOI":"10.1111\/j.1467-8683.2010.00809.x","article-title":"The gender and ethnic diversity of US boards and board committees and firm financial performance","volume":"18","author":"Carter","year":"2010","journal-title":"Corporate Governance: An International Review"},{"key":"ref_41","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"49","DOI":"10.1177\/0266242614556823","article-title":"Barriers to ethnic minority and women\u2019s enterprise: Existing evidence, policy tensions and unsettled questions","volume":"33","author":"Carter","year":"2015","journal-title":"International Small Business Journal"},{"key":"ref_42","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"771","DOI":"10.2307\/2601128","article-title":"Market structure and discrimination: The case of small businesses","volume":"30","author":"Cavalluzzo","year":"1998","journal-title":"Journal of Money, Credit and Banking"},{"key":"ref_43","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"641","DOI":"10.1086\/341638","article-title":"Competition, small business financing, and discrimination: Evidence from a new survey","volume":"75","author":"Cavalluzzo","year":"2002","journal-title":"The Journal of Business"},{"key":"ref_44","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"249","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jbankfin.2014.12.010","article-title":"Credit rationing and relationship lending. Does firm size matter?","volume":"53","author":"Cenni","year":"2015","journal-title":"Journal of Banking & Finance"},{"key":"ref_45","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"543","DOI":"10.1353\/mcb.2004.0043","article-title":"Real effects of bank competition","volume":"36","author":"Cetorelli","year":"2004","journal-title":"Journal of Money, Credit and Banking"},{"key":"ref_46","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"617","DOI":"10.1111\/0022-1082.00339","article-title":"Banking market structure, financial dependence and growth: International evidence from industry data","volume":"56","author":"Cetorelli","year":"2001","journal-title":"The Journal of Finance"},{"doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Cetorelli, Nicola, and Goldberg, Linda (2016). Organizational Complexity and Balance Sheet Management in Global Banks (No. w22169), National Bureau of Economic Research.","key":"ref_47","DOI":"10.3386\/w22169"},{"key":"ref_48","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"967","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jet.2012.01.006","article-title":"Credit quantity and credit quality: Bank competition and capital accumulation","volume":"147","author":"Cetorelli","year":"2012","journal-title":"Journal of Economic Theory"},{"key":"ref_49","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"437","DOI":"10.1111\/j.1540-6261.2006.00841.x","article-title":"Finance as a Barrier to Entry: Bank Competition and Industry Structure in Local US Markets","volume":"61","author":"Cetorelli","year":"2006","journal-title":"Journal of Finance"},{"key":"ref_50","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"101776","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jcorpfin.2020.101776","article-title":"How does greater bank competition affect borrower screening? Evidence from China\u2019s WTO entry","volume":"65","author":"Chemmanur","year":"2020","journal-title":"Journal of Corporate Finance"},{"key":"ref_51","first-page":"908","article-title":"Bank liquidity provision across the firm size distribution","volume":"144","author":"Darmouni","year":"2021","journal-title":"Journal of Financial Economics"},{"key":"ref_52","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"3412","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jbankfin.2013.05.006","article-title":"Does banking competition alleviate or worsen credit constraints faced by small-and medium-sized enterprises? Evidence from China","volume":"37","author":"Chong","year":"2013","journal-title":"Journal of Banking & Finance"},{"key":"ref_53","first-page":"37","article-title":"Access to capital and terms of credit: A comparison of men-and women-owned small businesses","volume":"38","author":"Coleman","year":"2000","journal-title":"Journal of Small Business Management"},{"key":"ref_54","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"397","DOI":"10.1007\/s11187-009-9205-7","article-title":"A comparison of new firm financing by gender: Evidence from the Kauffman Firm Survey data","volume":"33","author":"Coleman","year":"2009","journal-title":"Small Business Economics"},{"key":"ref_55","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"23","DOI":"10.1177\/014920630102700102","article-title":"An examination of the relationship of governance mechanisms to performance","volume":"27","author":"Coles","year":"2001","journal-title":"Journal of Management"},{"key":"ref_56","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1372","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jbankfin.2012.07.026","article-title":"Relationship lending, hierarchical distance and credit tightening: Evidence from the financial crisis","volume":"37","author":"Cotugno","year":"2013","journal-title":"Journal of Banking & Finance"},{"key":"ref_57","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"853","DOI":"10.1007\/s11187-019-00168-3","article-title":"Gender and bank lending after the global financial crisis: Are women entrepreneurs safer bets?","volume":"55","author":"Cowling","year":"2020","journal-title":"Small Business Economics"},{"key":"ref_58","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"448","DOI":"10.1257\/jel.47.2.448","article-title":"Gender differences in preferences","volume":"47","author":"Croson","year":"2009","journal-title":"Journal of Economic Literature"},{"doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Daily, Catherine, and Dalton, Dan (2003). Women in boardroom: A business imperative. Journal of Business Strategy, 24.","key":"ref_59","DOI":"10.1108\/jbs.2003.28824eaf.002"},{"key":"ref_60","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"195","DOI":"10.1111\/j.1354-7798.2005.00282.x","article-title":"Credit rationing, customer relationship and the number of banks: An empirical analysis","volume":"11","author":"Lobez","year":"2005","journal-title":"European Financial Management"},{"key":"ref_61","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"53","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jfs.2018.08.006","article-title":"SMEs and access to bank credit: Evidence on the regional propagation of the financial crisis in the UK","volume":"38","author":"Degryse","year":"2018","journal-title":"Journal of Financial Stability"},{"unstructured":"Deloitte (2022, January 15). Women Entrepreneurs: Developing Collaborative Ecosystems for Success. Available online: https:\/\/www.womensbusinesscouncil.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/deloitte-uk-womentr20161.pdf.","key":"ref_62"},{"key":"ref_63","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"404","DOI":"10.1006\/jfin.2000.0298","article-title":"Syndicated loans","volume":"9","author":"Dennis","year":"2000","journal-title":"Journal of Financial Intermediation"},{"key":"ref_64","first-page":"53","article-title":"Does firm size affect the firm profitability? Evidence from Turkey","volume":"4","year":"2013","journal-title":"Research Journal of Finance and Accounting"},{"key":"ref_65","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"489","DOI":"10.1111\/etap.12117","article-title":"Do you see what I see? Signaling effects of gender and firm characteristics on financing entrepreneurial ventures","volume":"40","author":"Eddleston","year":"2016","journal-title":"Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice"},{"key":"ref_66","first-page":"1","article-title":"Firm size and corporate financial-leverage choice in a developing economy: Evidence from Nigeria","volume":"29","author":"Ezeoha","year":"2008","journal-title":"The Jounal of Risk Finance"},{"key":"ref_67","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"193","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jcorpfin.2016.02.008","article-title":"CEO gender, corporate risk-taking, and the efficiency of capital allocation","volume":"39","author":"Faccio","year":"2016","journal-title":"Journal of Corporate Finance"},{"key":"ref_68","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"375","DOI":"10.1007\/s11187-009-9207-5","article-title":"Gender differences in business performance: Evidence from the Characteristics of Business Owners survey","volume":"33","author":"Fairlie","year":"2009","journal-title":"Small Business Economics"},{"key":"ref_69","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"124","DOI":"10.1006\/jfin.2001.0328","article-title":"Switching from single to multiple bank lending relationships: Determinants and implications","volume":"11","author":"Farinha","year":"2002","journal-title":"Journal of Financial Intermediation"},{"key":"ref_70","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"543","DOI":"10.1016\/j.physa.2015.10.013","article-title":"Why does the Euro fail? The DCCA approach","volume":"443","author":"Ferreira","year":"2016","journal-title":"Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and Its Applications"},{"doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Fondas, Nanette (2000). Women on boards of directors: Gender bias or power threat?. Women on Corporate Boards of Directors, Springer.","key":"ref_71","DOI":"10.1007\/978-90-481-3401-4_12"},{"key":"ref_72","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"53","DOI":"10.1177\/0148558X12452399","article-title":"The impact of CFO gender on bank loan contracting","volume":"28","author":"Francis","year":"2013","journal-title":"Journal of Accounting, Auditing & Finance"},{"key":"ref_73","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"641","DOI":"10.1111\/j.1475-6803.2011.01305.x","article-title":"Market power, bank megamergers, and the welfare of bank borrowers","volume":"34","author":"Fraser","year":"2011","journal-title":"Journal of Financial Research"},{"unstructured":"Friedman, Jerome, Hastie, Trevor, and Tibshirani, Rob (2001). The Elements of Statistical Learning (Vol. 1, N\u00ba10), Springer Series in Statistics.","key":"ref_74"},{"key":"ref_75","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1","DOI":"10.18637\/jss.v033.i01","article-title":"Regularization Paths for Generalized Linear Models via Coordinate Descent","volume":"33","author":"Friedman","year":"2010","journal-title":"Journal of Statistical Software"},{"key":"ref_76","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"39","DOI":"10.1300\/J140v06n01_04","article-title":"Monetary policy and economic development in Mexico since 1995","volume":"6","author":"Garrido","year":"2005","journal-title":"Latin American Business Review"},{"key":"ref_77","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"2923","DOI":"10.1257\/aer.102.6.2923","article-title":"Credit market consequences of improved personal identification: Field experimental evidence from Malawi","volume":"102","author":"Goldberg","year":"2012","journal-title":"American Economic Review"},{"key":"ref_78","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"363","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jcorpfin.2008.03.010","article-title":"Influence of bank concentration and institutions on capital structure: New international evidence","volume":"14","year":"2008","journal-title":"Journal of Corporate Finance"},{"unstructured":"Hair, Joseph F., Anderson, Rolph E., Tatham, Ronald L., and Black, William C. (1995). Multivariate Data Analysis with Readings, Prentice Hall.","key":"ref_79"},{"key":"ref_80","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"e08303","DOI":"10.1016\/j.heliyon.2021.e08303","article-title":"Participation of women in business associations: A case of small-scale tourism enterprises in Sri Lanka","volume":"7","author":"Handaragama","year":"2021","journal-title":"Heliyon"},{"key":"ref_81","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"142","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jbankfin.2017.03.009","article-title":"Do local banking market structures matter for SME financing and performance? New evidence from an emerging economy","volume":"79","author":"Hasan","year":"2017","journal-title":"Journal of Banking & Finance"},{"key":"ref_82","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"87","DOI":"10.2478\/v10117-011-0021-1","article-title":"Comparison of values of Pearson\u2019s and Spearman\u2019s correlation coefficients on the same sets of data","volume":"30","author":"Hauke","year":"2011","journal-title":"Quaestiones Geographicae"},{"key":"ref_83","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"315","DOI":"10.1111\/j.1540-627X.2006.00174.x","article-title":"Banking relationships: Effects on the debt terms for small Spanish firms","volume":"44","year":"2006","journal-title":"Journal of Small Business Management"},{"key":"ref_84","first-page":"465","article-title":"Relationship lending and SME financing in the continental European bank-based system","volume":"34","year":"2010","journal-title":"International Small Business Journal"},{"key":"ref_85","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"822","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jfineco.2012.12.005","article-title":"Gender and corporate finance: Are male executives overconfident relative to female executives?","volume":"108","author":"Huang","year":"2013","journal-title":"Journal of Financial Economics"},{"key":"ref_86","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"31","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jfs.2015.05.004","article-title":"Bank market power, factor reallocation, and aggregate growth","volume":"19","author":"Inklaar","year":"2015","journal-title":"Journal of Financial Stability"},{"key":"ref_87","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"47","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ememar.2018.05.004","article-title":"SMEs\u2019 near-death experiences. Do local banks extend a helping hand?","volume":"37","author":"Jackowicz","year":"2018","journal-title":"Emerging Markets Review"},{"key":"ref_88","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"106","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jfs.2016.10.005","article-title":"Community bank mergers and their impact on small business lending","volume":"27","author":"Jagtiani","year":"2016","journal-title":"Journal of Financial Stability"},{"key":"ref_89","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"995","DOI":"10.1111\/fima.12174","article-title":"Bank competition and leverage adjustments","volume":"46","author":"Jiang","year":"2017","journal-title":"Financial Management"},{"key":"ref_90","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"2126","DOI":"10.1086\/694289","article-title":"Macroprudential policy, countercyclical bank capital buffers, and credit supply: Evidence from the Spanish dynamic provisioning experiments","volume":"125","author":"Ongena","year":"2017","journal-title":"Journal of Political Economy"},{"key":"ref_91","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"166","DOI":"10.1080\/21642583.2022.2052996","article-title":"Ranking performance indicators related to banking by using hybrid multicriteria methods in an uncertain environment: A case study for Iran under COVID-19 conditions","volume":"10","author":"Spulbar","year":"2022","journal-title":"Systems Science & Control Engineering"},{"key":"ref_92","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"407","DOI":"10.1257\/aer.90.3.407","article-title":"What do a million observations on banks say about the transmission of monetary policy?","volume":"90","author":"Kashyap","year":"2000","journal-title":"American Economic Review"},{"key":"ref_93","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"811","DOI":"10.1002\/sim.4780140810","article-title":"The log transformation is special","volume":"14","author":"Keene","year":"1995","journal-title":"Statistics in Medicine"},{"key":"ref_94","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"55","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jeconbus.2013.01.003","article-title":"CEO gender and firm performance","volume":"67","author":"Khan","year":"2013","journal-title":"Journal of Economics and Business"},{"key":"ref_95","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"739","DOI":"10.1108\/CG-08-2019-0250","article-title":"Impact of governance structures on environmental disclosures in the Middle East and africa","volume":"20","author":"Kilincarslan","year":"2020","journal-title":"Corporate Governance: The International Journal of Business in Society"},{"unstructured":"Kwaak, Ton, Clarke, Martin, Mikolajun, Irena, and Abril, Carlos Raga (2017). Survey on the Access to Finance of Enterprises (SAFE). Directorate-General for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs, Publications Office of the European Union.","key":"ref_96"},{"doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Lemma, Tesfaye, Gwatidzo, Tendai, and Mlilo, Mlthokozisi (2022). Gender differences in business performance: Evidence from Kenya and South Africa. Small Business Economics, 1\u201324.","key":"ref_97","DOI":"10.1007\/s11187-022-00605-w"},{"key":"ref_98","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"130","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jbankfin.2015.04.005","article-title":"Does bank competition alleviate credit constraints in developing countries?","volume":"57","author":"Leon","year":"2015","journal-title":"Journal of Banking & Finance"},{"key":"ref_99","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"253","DOI":"10.1007\/s11156-017-0670-9","article-title":"Bank competition and the cost of bank loans","volume":"51","author":"Lian","year":"2018","journal-title":"Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting"},{"key":"ref_100","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"283","DOI":"10.1057\/s41267-019-00257-1","article-title":"Misconceptions about multicollinearity in international business research: Identification, consequences, and remedies","volume":"51","author":"Lindner","year":"2020","journal-title":"Journal of International Business Studies"},{"key":"ref_101","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"169","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jcorpfin.2013.11.016","article-title":"Do women directors improve firm performance in China?","volume":"28","author":"Liu","year":"2014","journal-title":"Journal of Corporate Finance"},{"key":"ref_102","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"413","DOI":"10.1093\/wber\/lhu003","article-title":"How bank competition affects firms\u2019 access to finance","volume":"29","author":"Love","year":"2015","journal-title":"The World Bank Economic Review"},{"key":"ref_103","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"265","DOI":"10.1007\/s10551-014-2148-1","article-title":"Women on the board and managers\u2019 pay: Evidence from Spain","volume":"129","year":"2015","journal-title":"Journal of Business Ethics"},{"key":"ref_104","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"250","DOI":"10.1108\/SRJ-06-2016-0103","article-title":"Corporate social performance and cost of debt: The relationship","volume":"13","author":"Magnanelli","year":"2017","journal-title":"Social Responsibility Journal"},{"key":"ref_105","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"901","DOI":"10.1093\/rfs\/15.3.901","article-title":"Competition, adverse selection, and information dispersion in the banking industry","volume":"15","author":"Marquez","year":"2002","journal-title":"The Review of Financial Studies"},{"key":"ref_106","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"136","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jfs.2017.07.002","article-title":"Is there a gender effect on the cost of bank financing?","volume":"31","author":"Mascia","year":"2017","journal-title":"Journal of Financial Stability"},{"unstructured":"Mehrotra, Aaron N., and Yetman, James (2022, August 22). Financial inclusion-issues for central banks. BIS Quarterly Review March, Available online: https:\/\/www.bis.org\/publ\/qtrpdf\/r_qt1503h.pdf.","key":"ref_107"},{"key":"ref_108","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"111","DOI":"10.1142\/S0217590818410035","article-title":"Financial stability and financial inclusion: The case of SME lending","volume":"63","author":"Morgan","year":"2018","journal-title":"The Singapore Economic Review"},{"key":"ref_109","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"927","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jbankfin.2012.10.023","article-title":"Loan managers\u2019 trust and credit access for SMEs","volume":"37","author":"Moro","year":"2013","journal-title":"Journal of Banking & Finance"},{"key":"ref_110","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"119","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jbankfin.2017.04.009","article-title":"Does a manager\u2019s gender matter when accessing credit? Evidence from European data","volume":"80","author":"Moro","year":"2017","journal-title":"Journal of Banking & Finance"},{"key":"ref_111","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"149","DOI":"10.1007\/s10693-012-0140-4","article-title":"Bank structure, relationship lending and small firm access to finance: A cross-country investigation","volume":"44","author":"Mudd","year":"2013","journal-title":"Journal of Financial Services Research"},{"key":"ref_112","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"768","DOI":"10.1111\/1756-2171.12295","article-title":"Information control in the hold-up problem","volume":"50","author":"Nguyen","year":"2019","journal-title":"The RAND Journal of Economics"},{"key":"ref_113","first-page":"245","article-title":"Analisis Hubungan Dewan Komisaris Independen, Voluntary Disclosure, Firm Size Dan Cost of Debt","volume":"5","author":"Nurdiniah","year":"2020","journal-title":"Jurnal Riset Manajemen dan Bisnis (JRMB) Fakultas Ekonomi UNIAT"},{"key":"ref_114","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"358","DOI":"10.1111\/j.1467-8268.2013.12034.x","article-title":"Capital structure and corporate performance of Nigerian quoted firms: A panel data approach","volume":"25","author":"Olokoyo","year":"2013","journal-title":"African Development Review"},{"key":"ref_115","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1079","DOI":"10.1007\/s11187-018-0101-x","article-title":"Trade credit versus bank credit: A simultaneous analysis in European SMEs","volume":"53","year":"2019","journal-title":"Small Business Economics"},{"key":"ref_116","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"579","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jbusres.2015.05.013","article-title":"Do gender differences persist? An examination of gender diversity on firm performance, risk, and executive compensation","volume":"69","author":"Perryman","year":"2016","journal-title":"Journal of Business Research"},{"key":"ref_117","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"407","DOI":"10.2307\/2118445","article-title":"The effect of credit market competition on lending relationships","volume":"110","author":"Petersen","year":"1995","journal-title":"The Quarterly Journal of Economics"},{"key":"ref_118","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1253","DOI":"10.1111\/jofi.12493","article-title":"Correlated default and financial intermediation","volume":"72","author":"Phelan","year":"2017","journal-title":"The Journal of Finance"},{"key":"ref_119","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"17","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jfs.2016.08.003","article-title":"State dependence in access to credit","volume":"27","author":"Pigini","year":"2016","journal-title":"Journal of Financial Stability"},{"key":"ref_120","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1546","DOI":"10.5465\/amj.2013.0319","article-title":"Women on boards and firm financial performance: A meta-analysis","volume":"58","author":"Post","year":"2015","journal-title":"Academy of Management Journal"},{"doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Pourmansouri, Rezvan, Mehdiabadi, Amir, Shahabi, Vahid, Spulbar, Cristi, and Birau, Ramona (2022). An Investigation of the Link between Major Shareholders\u2019 Behavior and Corporate Governance Performance before and after the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Case Study of the Companies Listed on the Iranian Stock Market. Journal of Risk and Financial Management, 15.","key":"ref_121","DOI":"10.3390\/jrfm15050208"},{"key":"ref_122","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"605","DOI":"10.1108\/GM-12-2019-0252","article-title":"Women Directors and Corporate Performance: Firm size and board monitoring as the least focused factors","volume":"36","author":"Rahman","year":"2021","journal-title":"Gender in Management: An International Journal"},{"key":"ref_123","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1348","DOI":"10.1002\/bjs.10895","article-title":"LASSO regression","volume":"105","author":"Ranstam","year":"2018","journal-title":"British Journal of Surgery"},{"key":"ref_124","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"2684","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jbankfin.2008.07.001","article-title":"Bank concentration and financial constraints on firm-level investment in Europe","volume":"32","author":"Ratti","year":"2008","journal-title":"Journal of Banking & Finance"},{"key":"ref_125","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"423","DOI":"10.1111\/j.1467-7660.2012.01743.x","article-title":"World development report 2012: Gender equality and development\u2014A commentary","volume":"43","author":"Razavi","year":"2012","journal-title":"Development and Change"},{"key":"ref_126","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"337","DOI":"10.1007\/s10551-015-2735-9","article-title":"Does board gender diversity influence financial performance? Evidence from Spain","volume":"141","author":"Laffarga","year":"2017","journal-title":"Journal of Business Ethics"},{"key":"ref_127","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"861","DOI":"10.1111\/j.1540-6261.2010.01555.x","article-title":"Does Credit Competition Affect Small-Firm Finance?","volume":"65","author":"Rice","year":"2010","journal-title":"Journal of Finance"},{"key":"ref_128","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"27","DOI":"10.1007\/s12122-014-9194-4","article-title":"What drives self-employment survival for women and men? Evidence from Canada","volume":"36","author":"Rybczynski","year":"2015","journal-title":"Journal of Labor Research"},{"key":"ref_129","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"613","DOI":"10.1002\/jid.1698","article-title":"Financial inclusion and development","volume":"23","author":"Sarma","year":"2011","journal-title":"Journal of International Development"},{"key":"ref_130","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"168","DOI":"10.1037\/0022-3514.94.1.168","article-title":"Why can\u2019t a man be more like a woman? Sex differences in Big Five personality traits across 55 cultures","volume":"94","author":"Schmitt","year":"2008","journal-title":"Journal of Personality and Social Psychology"},{"key":"ref_131","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"329","DOI":"10.1007\/s10834-012-9334-z","article-title":"Decision making clusters in retirement savings: Gender differences dominate","volume":"34","author":"Speelman","year":"2013","journal-title":"Journal of Family and Economic Issues"},{"key":"ref_132","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"e04390","DOI":"10.1016\/j.heliyon.2020.e04390","article-title":"Financial performance of rural banks in Indonesia: A two-stage DEA approach","volume":"6","author":"Sukmana","year":"2020","journal-title":"Heliyon"},{"unstructured":"Tacneng, Ruth (2022, August 23). Local Banking Market Structure and SME Financing Obstacles: Evidence from the Philippines, Available online: http:\/\/catalog.ihsn.org\/citations\/46989.","key":"ref_133"},{"key":"ref_134","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"144","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jfs.2016.08.001","article-title":"Macroprudential regulation, credit spreads and the role of monetary policy","volume":"26","author":"Tayler","year":"2016","journal-title":"Journal of Financial Stability"},{"unstructured":"Townsend, Wilbur (2018). ELASTICREGRESS: Stata Module to Perform Elastic Net Regression, Lasso Regression, Ridge Regression, Boston College Department of Economics. Statiscal Software Component.","key":"ref_135"},{"key":"ref_136","first-page":"362","article-title":"Lending decision making in banks: A critical incident study of loan officers","volume":"32","author":"Hemlin","year":"2014","journal-title":"European Management Journal"},{"key":"ref_137","first-page":"35","article-title":"The Effect of Profitability and Leverage on Cost of Debt with Firm Size as a Moderating Variable","volume":"24","author":"Utami","year":"2021","journal-title":"South East Asia Journal of Contemporary Business, Economics and Law"},{"key":"ref_138","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"2648","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jbankfin.2006.09.011","article-title":"The happy story of small business financing","volume":"31","author":"Vos","year":"2007","journal-title":"Journal of Banking & Finance"},{"key":"ref_139","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"101534","DOI":"10.1016\/j.irfa.2020.101534","article-title":"Bank competition, concentration and EU SME cost of debt","volume":"71","author":"Wang","year":"2020a","journal-title":"International Review of Financial Analysis"},{"key":"ref_140","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"101162","DOI":"10.1016\/j.intfin.2019.101162","article-title":"Bank market power and SME finance: Firm-bank evidence from European countries","volume":"64","author":"Wang","year":"2020b","journal-title":"Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money"},{"key":"ref_141","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"335","DOI":"10.2307\/2098066","article-title":"The profitability and size of United Kingdom companies, 1960\u201374","volume":"28","author":"Whittington","year":"1980","journal-title":"The Journal of Industrial Economics"},{"key":"ref_142","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"115","DOI":"10.1108\/EJMBE-03-2021-0077","article-title":"The nexus between firm size, growth and profitability: New panel data evidence from Asia\u2013Pacific markets","volume":"31","author":"Yadav","year":"2021","journal-title":"European Journal of Management and Business Economics"},{"key":"ref_143","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"101500","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jcorpfin.2019.101500","article-title":"The effect of relationship banking on firm efficiency and default risk","volume":"65","author":"Yildirim","year":"2020","journal-title":"Journal of Corporate Finance"},{"unstructured":"Yoshino, Naoyuki, and Taghizadeh-Hesary, Farhard (2022, August 22). The Role of SMEs in Asia and Their Difficulties in Accessing Finance. Available online: https:\/\/think-asia.org\/handle\/11540\/9483.","key":"ref_144"},{"key":"ref_145","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"503","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jfineco.2005.07.008","article-title":"Evidence on the effects of bank competition on firm borrowing and investment","volume":"81","author":"Zarutskie","year":"2006","journal-title":"Journal of Financial Economics"}],"container-title":["International Journal of Financial Studies"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/2227-7072\/10\/4\/98\/pdf","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,11]],"date-time":"2025-10-11T00:57:41Z","timestamp":1760144261000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/2227-7072\/10\/4\/98"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2022,10,19]]},"references-count":145,"journal-issue":{"issue":"4","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2022,12]]}},"alternative-id":["ijfs10040098"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/ijfs10040098","relation":{},"ISSN":["2227-7072"],"issn-type":[{"type":"electronic","value":"2227-7072"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2022,10,19]]}}}