Determinants of nonperforming loans in the Southern Mediterranean countries

Abstract

The main aim of this paper is to examine the determinants of financial soundness indicators (non-performing loans) of the banking system. There are several factors that lead to the growth or decline of non-performing loans, such as macroeconomic variables. This study uses a sample of six out often countries of the Southern Mediterranean (Tunisia, Morocco, Egypt, Lebanon, Jordan and Turkey) that were analyzed over the period of 2000 to 2012. Our result shows that the non-performing loans negatively depend on the nominal exchange rate, the consumer price index and the gross capital formation.